Always There
by Jayne Leigh
Summary: studio 60 Matt was always there for Danny...Danny was always there for Matt... what happens when Danny can't be there anymore! Epilogue
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! Here's my newest fic!! Please review and let me know what you think! Thank you!! **

**Enjoy!!!**

**Always There**

It started as him just being tired then it developed into him forgetting the smallest thing and unbearable migraines. Jordan made him go to the doctors; she was worried that he was working to hard. After a week of not feeling much better, he made an appointment, just to keep Jordan happy. It was nothing.

That's what he thought anyway. The doctor did an examination but when Danny was expecting to hear the word 'Overworked' instead he heard 'possibility of a Tumour.' He stared at the doctor before asking him to repeat himself.

He carried out more tests. All the time, Danny was telling himself that it was just routine and nothing would come of it. He could feel Jordan's hand getting tighter and tighter around his as they sat and waited for the results.

Danny didn't listen to everything the doctor said as he read out the results; he just heard the important parts.

_Bad News... Too Big To Operate... _

He couldn't remember much after leaving the doctors office. Now he was sat at his desk but he wasn't doing any work.

"What are we going to do about the show?" Jordan asked, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

"What?" He looked over at her. She was sitting in the seat in front of his desk.

"The show?" She replied. "Do...do you think we should go on hiatus early?"

"I'm not dead yet." He stood up.

"Uh, I'm sorry... I didn't...I..." She stuttered before looking back down as more fell from her eyes.

Danny sighed and moved to her side. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"What are we going to do?" She looked up at him.

"We're going to get on with the show." He told her, reaching up and brushing a few tears away.

"I didn't mean that." She placed her hand on top of his, as it rested against her cheek.

He was silent for a moment, just looking into her eyes, helplessly before whispering. "I know."

_XxXxX_

"Who have you told?" Jordan asked, the next day, sitting in his office again, she spent more time there then she did in her own.

"No one." He answered.

"What about Matt?" She asked.

"I can't."

"Danny, you will have to at some point."

"I know but its not the right time, he's going through all that stuff with Harriet..." He started to explain.

"He's a grown man... you can't protect him from everything."

"I can from this... for the moment anyway..." He told her. "No one else needs to know just yet...I'm fine...for the moment."

Jordan eyes welled up at the words. She couldn't believe she was going to lose him. After everything they went through when they first got together. They hadn't been a couple for long enough yet.

"Sorry." Danny sighed, closing his eyes.

"You don't have to apologies..." She told him, taking a deep breath and managing to give him a small smile. "If you're not ready to tell everyone just yet, then that's fine."

"I don't want sympathy...I don't want to be treated different." He told her. "I couldn't stand it if people started to treat me as if I'm helpless."

"Well, whenever you're ready." She replied.

"Thank you." He said quietly, before going back to staring at the wall.

_XxXxX_

6 weeks had passed and still no one had found out. Although they all noticed Danny acting weird but also noticed Jordan hanging around more often so put it down to that.

Danny's headaches got worse, he started vomiting and he suffered a seizure once when he was at home with Jordan but all the doctor could offer him was some medication to control it all.

Matt still hadn't worked out what was going on but he had his own problems to deal with. Luke was at the studio a lot more then before and every time Matt saw them together, his heart broke just a little more. Thankfully he had his pills to make the pain ago away. He just kept telling himself that once he was over Harriet, he'd be able to stop taking them. They were just helping him get through the day.

Danny was sitting next to Matt as they watched Simon and Harriet read through the 'News' segment. He could feel his head start to pound and it wasn't long before his vision begun to blur.

"Hey."

He turned and saw Jordan taking a seat next to him. He could just make out her concerned face.

"Danny, are you okay?" She asked but he could barely hear her.

Her questioned caused Matt and a few others to look at them.

"Danny?" Matt said, he hadn't noticed how ill he looked before.

Danny tried to turn his head to look at Matt, to assure him that he was okay but he couldn't. Everything started to fade into darkness.

"Danny!" Jordan screamed as he started to fall to the floor.

"Someone help!" Matt shouted as he watched helplessly as his best friend had a seizure.

"Hold his legs down!" Jordan ordered Matt, quickly jumped into action, trying to hold his head still.

Matt did as he was told as everyone started to crowd around to see what was happening.

It wasn't long until the seizure stopped and Danny slowly started to come around.

"What's going on?" He mumbled, trying to sit up seeing Matt and Jordan looking down at him, concerned.

"You had a seizure..." Jordan explained, helping into the sitting position.

"Don't worry, we're going to get you to the hospital." Matt told him.

"No...No hospital." Danny replied.

"What do you mean? You need to get checked out." Matt claimed.

"Matty, I'm fine..."

"You're not fine!" Matt insisted. "Jordan, tell him."

Jordan looked at Matt for a moment before looking at Danny, his eyes pleading with her not to say anything.

"Can someone get him a glass of water?" She asked, looking at the people stood around them.

"Jordan!" Matt glared at her.

"Matty, I don't need to go to the hospital." Danny told him. "I'll be fine...just...just let me rest for a while."

"This is crazy!" Matt stood up. "What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on."

"Danny! There's something going on and I want to know what!"

"I told you, there's nothing going on."

"I know you...I know when you're lying! You used to do it to me on a regular bases, remember?" Matt replied, referring to his addiction. He knew it wasn't something nice to do but it normally made Danny feel guilty enough to tell him the truth.

"I remember." Danny said quietly, looking down.

"Look, this isn't helping anyone..." Jordan cut in. "Can someone help me get him up to his office?"

"You using coke again?" Matt asked, once again causing everyone to fall silent.

"God, Matty... of course I'm not." Danny answered.

"Damn it, Danny!! Stop calling me, Matty because you only do when something is going on!" He exclaimed. "When you're trying to protect me! I'm not a little kid! Stop treating me like one!!"

"Do you really think I'd be using coke again?" Danny asked.

"I don't know what to think." He replied. "There must be a reason why you won't go and see a doctor."

"There's no point because they won't be able to do anything!"

"You don't know that!" Matt raised his voice slightly. He didn't like this. There was something going on that he didn't know about. Danny knew everything that was going on with him. Well, not everything but the important stuff... the pills... they were just a quick fix for the moment in time.

"Yes, I do!"

"Oh, so you're a Doctor..." Matt started off sarcastically.

"Because it's a tumour!" Danny suddenly shouted, stopping Matt in mid sentence. He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing quietly. "They can't do anything because I'm dying, Matty."

"What?" He whispered.

Harriet's hand flew to her mouth as the words sunk in. Tom and Simon both looked at each other, wondering whether they just heard right. Cal, who had been stood behind some people, pushed his way to the front and looked at him.

"I didn't want to tell you like this..."

"Is this a joke?" Matt asked.

"No, Matt I wish it was..." Danny sighed.

"No...No it's got to be a joke." He shook his head.

"Matt."

"It's not funny, Danny..." He whispered.

"I know."

Matt swallowed the lump that rose in his throat as he tried to get his head around what he was just told. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Harriet, who had tears streaming down her face. He shrugged away from her touch, stepping back, towards Danny and Jordan.

"Matt..." Danny started again.

Matt looked around the room, seeing everyone watching him.

"I got... I got to do..." He stuttered, pointing to the door when he couldn't finish the sentence. "I'll...I'll be right back."

"Matt." Danny went to follow him as he walked quickly out.

"Maybe you should give him some space." Jordan said softly.

Danny just stared at the doors as they closed behind him. She was right; maybe space was the best thing for him now. Besides, he didn't think he had the energy to catch up with him.

He sighed. "Yeah."

"Come on, lets go to your office."

He nodded again, not bothering to argue.

"Right...why...why don't we do the 'News' again..." Simon suggested. He knew that no one was in the right frame of mind to get it right but they needed to do something. They couldn't just stand around thinking about it all. They still had a show to put on.

"Yeah... once more, from the top." Cal ordered, thinking the same as Simon.

Everyone slowly started to go back to what they were doing but no one had their minds, completely on the job in hand.

**TBC**

**Please review and let me know what you think!!! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys! Here's the next part! Hope you like it!! Please review and let me know what you think!!! **

**Enjoy!!! **

**Always There**

"You need to go home." Jordan told Danny.

"No, I can't go, I've got to talk to Matt."

"Danny, we've been sat here for 3 hours, I don't think he's coming back tonight."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I shouldn't have told him like that."

"He was going to find out at some point." She replied. "Just give him some space and let him get his head around all this."

"I guess."

"So, lets go home and you can get some rest then in the morning you can talk to him."

"Okay, you're right." He stood up.

She smiled, getting up and reaching for his hand.

_XxXxX_

Matt hadn't left the studio after he had found out about Danny; he had gone up to the roof. He had been spending a lot of time there; it helped him to think. No one ever seemed to think to look for him up there, which was a good thing for him. It meant he could always come up and hide away when things got too much. Things were getting too much a lot lately and he didn't know how to handle it any more. He had always taken for granted that Danny would be there to help him, no matter what with or when. That was all going to change now. The one person that had been a constant support was going to leave him, just like everyone else. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small bottle of pills, shaking some onto his hand. He stared down at them for a moment, knowing he shouldn't be doing it. What would everyone thing..._Harriet... Danny... Screw them, they didn't care... neither of them were going to stick around... _In one fluent motion, he brought his hand up and poured the pills into his mouth, swallowing them dry. He leaned his forearms on the wall that went around the edge of the roof, resting his head down, waiting for the effects to take over.

_XxXxX_

"Matt here?" Danny asked Suzanne.

"No, not yet..." She replied.

"Can you ask him to come to my office as soon as he does, please?"

"No problem."

Danny went back to his office. He got a call from Jordan who was checking up on him, he then tried to get some work done but couldn't concentrate. He sighed when he realised an hour had passed and Matt still hadn't shown up. He decided to take a walk and see what everyone was up to, make sure they were all working.

He was surprised when he saw Matt sat down with Simon and Tom, writing.

"There you are..." Danny walked towards him. "I've been waiting for you."

"Why? What's up?" Matt looked at him.

"Um, well...I thought you'd want to talk about yesterday." Danny replied.

"Yesterday?" Matt frowned. He tried to think back but all his memory would let him remember was stumbling home and crashing out on his couch.

"Matt, I know this must be hard for you but... but we need to talk about it at some point."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Danny repeated, confused by his reaction. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He shrugged. "You look like hell though, maybe you're coming down with the flu or something."

At this point Danny looked at Tom and Simon, wondering if they knew what was going on but they looked just as confused and concerned as he did.

"Maybe you should take a few days off or something." Matt suggested standing up, turning to Simon and Tom. "I'm going to get Lucy and Darius to work on this, see if they can come up with anything."

"Uh, okay..." Tom replied, sharing another look with Danny.

"Okay, well I'll head down to the writers' room." Matt told them all. "Seriously, Danny... why don't you go up to your office and take a nap or something, it will make you feel better."

"Yeah... I might do that." Danny replied but had no intention of doing so. He needed to find out what was going on with Matt.

"That was weird." Simon commented.

"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Danny asked. "You two where there, yesterday right? I didn't imagine it. I told him that I was..."

"Yeah... yeah you told him." Simon replied when Danny's voice trailed off. "About that, I'm so sorr..."

"Stop there." Danny held up his hand. "I don't want sympathy..."

"Right." He nodded. "But if there's anything you need..."

"I know..." Danny cut in again. "Thanks. I'll be in my office."

_XxXxX_

"Okay, Jordan, this better be important." Jack said as he walked into her office without knocking.

"It is." She told him, starting to stand up to greet him but he waved his hand, telling her to stay seated.

"What's it about?" He asked sitting opposite her.

"Danny Tripp."

He sighed. "What has he done now?"

"He... he hasn't done anything..." Jordan stated. "But uh... umm."

"What is it?" Jack asked impatiently.

"A few weeks ago... he was diagnosed with… with a brain tumour." She struggled to get the words out.

Jack opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. He stared at her for a few seconds.

"He... he told everyone at Studio 60 yesterday, I thought I should let you know."

He nodded slightly, still taking it in. "Right, so he's going to need time off for treatment... I suppose, it won't be to much to do, considering the circumstances..."

Jordan was surprised by Jack's reaction. She didn't know why. It wasn't as if she was expecting him to be mad at Danny for getting sick.

"There's no treatment..." She told him, cutting him off.

"What?"

"The...the doctor said it was too big to operate..." She explained. "They've given him medication to control the pain and everything."

"So, there's nothing they can do?"

"No." She whispered, looking down when tears filled her eyes. She had to stay strong.

"How...How long does he..." Jack couldn't finish the question but Jordan knew what he was asking.

"They couldn't tell... it could be 6 months to 6 years..."

Jack nodded but didn't say any more. The silence was broken when Jordan couldn't hold onto her emotions any longer.

"I"m sorry..." She cried, trying to dry her eyes.

"No, don't be..." Jack told her. "You're hormones must be all over the place with the pregnancy."

"No, it's not that..." She started but then realised Jack didn't know about her relationship with Danny.

"What is it then?"

"It... It doesn't matter." She told him.

"Jordan, it's obviously something."

"I love him, Jack..." She didn't have the energy to fight. "I've fallen in love with him and he's going to be taken away."

Jack didn't know how to reply. Normally he would have shouted at her. Told her, she was being unprofessional but he couldn't do that.

"Is he at the studio?" He asked and Jordan just nodded. "Then go...go be with him."

"What?"

"I'll deal with everything here for today." He told her.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked him.

"Just call it my good deed for the week." He replied. "Now go before I change my mind."

"Thank you." She said, standing up, grabbing her bag on the way out.

_XxXxX_

Harriet knocked quietly on Matt's door, slowly pushing it open when she got no answer. Tom and Simon had told her what happened earlier with Danny and she just wanted to check on him. She stopped when she saw he was sleeping on the couch. She slowly walked towards him. He must have been sleeping lightly because as she got closer, his eyes opened.

"Oh, hi." He sat up slowly.

"Hi." She replied. "I came to check on you."

"I'm fine." He frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well after yesterday..." She started. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Harriet...I'm perfect!" He told her, standing up and walking to his desk.

"Matthew, Danny's dying...and you're saying your perfect."

"What?" He looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

"What am I...?" She didn't get why he was acting like this. "Danny told you yesterday..."

"Y'know, I thinking maybe that sketch Lucy wrote yesterday wasn't as bad as I thought..." He interrupted, not listening to her. "Will need some work, though...maybe Tom could help her with it."

"Matthew!"

"Uh, what? Sorry?" He looked at her.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked.

"I told you nothing... "I'm going to talk to Tom.'" He told her, leaving her standing in the middle of the office, concerned.

**TBC**

**Please review and let me know what you think!! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming!! **

**Enjoy!!!**

**Always There**

"Danny?" Harriet called as she saw Jordan and him a little ahead of her.

"Yeah?" He turned and stopped.

"I need to talk to you."

"What about?"

"Matt..." She replied. "I just had the strangest conversation with him."

Danny was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I did too, earlier...Let's talk in my office."

"What did you say?" Danny asked once all three of them were in the office.

"Well, I just went in there to check on him, see if he waned to talk but...but it was as if he didn't know anything that was going on." She explained. "When I brought it up, he started talking about something else."

"Yeah, that was the same with me." Danny told her.

"Maybe he's trying to ignore it, hoping it will go away." Jordan suggested.

"No, Matt wouldn't do that." Danny answered.

"He's the kind of person that would try and do anything and everything to sort a problem out." Harriet explained.

"Yeah but something like this?" Jordan questioned. "It's pretty big."

"He's dealt with bigger issues..." Danny replied.

"Bigger issues?" Jordan frowned. "Danny, you're dying."

"I know."

"What's bigger then that?"

"Don't worry about it."

She rolled her eyes; she was beginning to hate it when he told her to do that.

"What are we going to do?" Harriet asked.

"I'll try talking to him again. Maybe he's just tired...and forgotten."

"Yeah..." Harriet nodded but she knew that no one in the room thought it was true. "Maybe."

"Do you know where he is?"

"He said he was going to go and talk to Tom."

"Okay, I'll be back soon." He kissed Jordan on the cheek before heading for the door.

"So, how are you coping?" Harriet asked her, once Danny had gone.

She sighed and shook her head slightly. "Not very well... Sometimes I can be strong and positive...thinking that someone will work out how to treat it... and then other times, I just lose it completely..."

"You know you can always talk to me." Harriet told her.

Jordan smiled slightly. "I know, thank you."

_XxXxX_

Just as Harriet left Danny's office, she saw Matt slipping through the door to the roof. She frowned wondering what he was going to do up there. She looked around before following him up.

Matt almost choked on the pills when he heard the door open but luckily he managed to swallow them before turning around to see who was there.

"What you doing?" Harriet asked.

"I just wanted some air." He replied, turning back to look over the skyline.

"It's freezing up here." She pulled her jacket tighter around her.

"Is it?" He said quietly.

"Matthew, please talk to me." She moved to stand next to him. "I know we've had our problems lately but you're still one of my closest friends. I want to help you."

Matt didn't answer, he didn't look at her when she placed a hand on top of his. The reason why he was up there was because on his way down to see Tom, he suddenly got flash backs of the day before. Danny having the seizure... Announcing he had a tumour... Saying he was going to die. He remembered coming up here afterwards. Just standing there for hours thinking about everything that they've been through together...How he wasn't going to be around for much longer... Then he remembered taking the pills... They made him forget... He didn't want to remember...If he couldn't remember then he wouldn't have to deal with it... that's why he took the pills, yesterday and that's why he got drunk, to block everything out. He wasn't strong enough to deal with it. The thought of him not being able to help or be there for Danny was making him feel sick. He just wanted to forget...

Harriet squeezed his hand gently when she noticed a few tears lining his eyes. She had never seen him cry before.

"Matt, when my Mom died..."

"Don't..." He whispered, pulling his hand away. "Please don't."

"I want to help you..."

"I know but I can't... I can't deal with this right now." He told her, looking at her, his eyes pleading with her to just leave him alone but she couldn't walk away from him.

"When my Mom died, I thought it was the end of the world." She carried on, watching as he walked to the other side of the roof, turning his back to her but still she didn't stop. "But with time and being around people who care and understand, I got through it…"

She waited for a reply but when she didn't get one she continued to talk.

"Matthew, I know this is hard for you but you're not the only one hurting..." She told him, softly. "Danny has a lot of friends here, I've known him a long time, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't even be here."

"I know." He whispered, still not turning around to face her.

"And Jordan, she loves him Matt... They haven't been together long but they really do love each other..."

"Yes! I do realise all of this Harriet, but I don't see the point you're trying to make!"

"My point is, you're not alone! So stop acting like you are!" She answered.

"What?" He asked, turning to face her.

"You're acting like it's happening to you!" She commented, not being able to stop herself. "But it isn't...Danny is going through hell right now and all you can think about is yourself! You should be helping him not causing him more trouble and worry by acting like a jerk!"

Matt was too shocked to reply and just watched as she left the roof.

As she walked down the stairs, she regretted what she said. She knew that Matt was just trying to get his head around it all, but she hoped that what she'd just said to him would make him realise what he had to do.

Matt paced the roof a few times, until the pills fully kicked in and he headed to lean against the wall that ran around the edge of the roof for support. Harriet was right...Danny had too many problems to worry about now. He didn't need Matt causing any more...He didn't need Matt around... he had Jordan...and everyone else at the studio... Maybe he should just leave and let Danny have some peace for once.

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, here's the next part! Please review and let me know what you think! **

**Enjoy!!!**

**Always There**

Matt was sat in his office with no lights on. Even though it was gone 3am, there were still people in the studio, but no one knew he was there. He preferred it that way, then no one could start asking questions about why he hadn't gone home. He hadn't been at home a lot lately. He hated it. It was so quiet and so lonely. He looked around the office, he felt at home here, even on their first day back when everything was crazy. This is where he belonged.

But he couldn't stay. If he stayed then he'd cause too many problems. Danny needed to look after himself right now; he didn't need Matt around to mess everything up. So he decided, he'd quit. He'd have to come up with a good excuse why he was leaving though because Danny would want to know. He hated the thought of not seeing Danny every day. He knew that people thought they were a little too close and their friendship was a little weird but he didn't care. Danny was his best friend; he was like a big brother to him. No one understands Danny like he did and no one understands him like Danny does, not even Harriet. There was so much she didn't know.

Matt thought he was pretty good at looking after Danny. Even though anyone who knew them would probably say it was the other way around. Danny was constantly making sure that he was okay. Whenever he had a fight with Harriet, Danny was always there asking what happened. Danny made sure Matt didn't worry about the show - apart from the writing side of things, but they weren't there when Danny was on coke. They weren't there to see Matt being the big brother. None of them realised how bad Danny actually got at one point. He drove everyone away. His family, his wife, his friends... But Matt stuck by him. Matt got him through it all. Now he was going to do the right thing by Danny again, but this time he was going to leave. Get out of his life for good before his realises how much Matt has really screwed up.

He knew it would be hard; people would want to know where he was going. They're wanted to stay in touch, especially Danny and Harriet. He couldn't tell them where he was going though, because he wasn't strong enough. He knew if he stayed in contact, then he wouldn't be able to stay away and he'd come back. It was better this way, at least he'd be able to forget and erase them from his memory altogether.

Just thinking about it broke his heart and he instantly reached for the pill bottle that he carried around in his pocket. He shook some into the palm of his hand, staring down at them. They will help...They'd help with his heartache... they'd help him to forget. He threw them into his mouth, grabbing the bottle of vodka and took a mouthful to swallow the pills, not even bothering to pour it into a glass... It wasted time, he told himself as he took another mouthful.

_XxXxX_

Harriet was reading her script, keeping an eye on Tom and Simon showing a sketch to Matt. She laughed slightly; it was good sketch, they had been working on it for a while now.

"Stop." Matt told them in the middle of it. "Just stop."

"You don't like it?" Tom asked.

"It wasn't funny." Matt commented, he saw everyone was looking at him.

"Uh, okay... how... what should we do differently?" Tom questioned.

"Take the paper that you've written it on..." Matt started. "And burn it."

"What?"

"It's not good enough to be in the show." He stood up. "You're wasting my time! If you're not funny, stop trying to be."

Simon, Tom and Harriet watched stunned by his reaction as he walked away.

Matt could feel their eyes burning into his back but he didn't bother to stop or turn back to look at them. This was his new plan. He was going to be a bastard. It would easier this way. It was always easier to let people go when you hated them. By the time they calmed down and realised what was going on, he would have disappeared... he would have forgotten all about them all.

_XxXxX_

"What did you mean yesterday?" Jordan asked Danny breaking the silence as they sat and ate lunch. She continued when he looked at her, questionably. "When you said, Matt had dealt with bigger issues."

Danny looked down at his food. "Nothing."

"Come on, Danny... has it got anything to do with him acting weird, now?"

"No, it's nothing do with it..."

"Then what is it?"

He sighed. "Just that he was always there for me when I was going through my addiction. He was the only one there for me."

"It's a shame he isn't here for you this time."

"That's not fair." Danny replied. "Just because he hasn't handled it all very well..."

"I know he's your best friend but I can't help thinking he's acting like a jerk."

"Jordan, he's more then a best friend... We went through a lot and some of the stuff I said to him and put him through back then, anyone else would have walked away."

"Okay, sorry...I shouldn't have said anything."

Danny smiled slightly and they both fell back into silence as they started to eat again. Talking about the past, made Danny start to think about something that both Matt and he had tried to forget... but they both knew it would never happen.

_**11 Years Earlier **_

_**5 minutes ago Danny had been walking around the club talking to everyone, he was the life of the party. Now he was sat at the bar, his energy drained from his body. His eyes slowly moved around the room as he took mouthfuls of water, it was so hot!! He didn't know anyone there... he had come with a friend but he had lost him at the beginning of the night. He wondered what Matt was up to now. He had asked him to go to the party with him but he said he had to work. Danny had laughed at him, it was Friday night and Matt was stuck working in some dingy bar. **_

_**He had met Matt about a year ago, Danny had seen a one-act play in New York that Matt had written and when he went over to tell Matt how good he thought it was, they started to talk and instantly got along. Danny showed some of the material Matt had written to Wes Mendell, who agreed to give Matt a place on the writers team. **_

_**Danny knew that one day Matt would be successful, but at the moment he was struggling to get anything on the air. It was never easy for the first year or so. Matt was struggling to pay the rent on his apartment and even though Danny offered, he was too proud to take any money from him. So that's why he was working in a bar during the night as well as working at the studio in the day. **_

_**Danny looked at his watch and realised it was gone 3am. Matt would be home now. He pulled out his cell phone, scrolling down till he found Matt's number. It rung a few times before Matt answered in a sleepy voice.**_

"**_Hey, it's me... now you've finished work, you should come down here to meet me." Danny told him. _**

"**_Danny, it's 3:30, I got to be at the studio at 6 and I've only had 15 minutes of sleep!" Matt sat up and rubbed his eyes. He had no idea where his friend got his energy. _**

"**_Aw come on, Matty... it'll be fun! Don't worry about the money, I can take care of it." Danny told him. "Besides, you're going to be a star one day so you can pay me back..." _**

_**Matt rolled his eyes as he listened to Danny, guessing he was drunk. **_

_**Danny's body started to get heavier and heavier, he tried to get his mouth to stop talking to Matt so he could go and do another line but he just couldn't. He didn't even know what he was saying to him; all he was thinking about was getting his next fix. **_

"**_Danny? You're acting weird...I'm going to come down to get you, okay?" Matt said, sitting up, reaching for a t-shirt. "Just stay there."_**

_**Danny stumbled down from his chair when Matt hung up and headed for the bathrooms. **_

_**Matt knew there was something going on with Danny lately and he had heard rumours about drugs, but he didn't know whether to believe it or not. Danny had taken care of him the past year. Matt had no family in LA and when he first arrived hadn't known anyone except Danny. He was worried about his friend and knew he had to do something to help him. **_

_**Matt entered the club, sighing when he saw it was still filled with people. He was glad that Danny had thought to put his name on the guest list in case he changed his mind about joining him after he finished work. He didn't get why so many people loved to all crowd into one place and stay there till the early hours. He searched the club for about 15 minutes before he spotted Danny chatting to a group of girls. **_

"**_Danny?" Matt called, making his way over to him. _**

"**_Hey! Matty!" He grinned when he saw him. "Girls, this is my boy! He's going to be a star!"_**

_**Matt sighed. "Come on, we're leaving."**_

"**_Why?" Danny asked. _**

"**_Just come on." Matt told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him through the crowd. _**

"**_Matt, I'm older then you and I say we stay!" Danny insisted._**

"**_You're older by three years!" _**

"**_Yeah... one...two... three..." Danny counted and before he knew it, they were outside. "Wow, how did we get here?"_**

_**Matt looked at him, he could tell from his appearance that he had taken something, but he decided not to say anything about it tonight. He'll wait until tomorrow when he wasn't high and they could talk properly. **_

"**_My car is over here." Matt told him, still pulling him along by his arm. _**

"**_Matt, don't be such a baby, lets stay and have some fun... those girls were hot!" _**

"**_Danny shut up and get in the car!" _**

_**Danny let himself get pushed into the car and watched as Matt walked around to the drivers seat.**_

"**_You need to loosen up a little." Danny told him. _**

"**_Whatever..." Matt muttered. _**

"**_Where are we going?" He asked. _**

"**_You can stay at my place tonight."_**

"**_I don't want to! I need to get back to the club." _**

"**_You're not going back..." Matt told him but before he realised what was happening, Danny leaned over and grabbed the steering wheel. _**

"**_Turn around." Danny ordered. _**

"**_Danny, watch out!" Matt shouted as he tried to turn the wheel back the other way when they mounted the sidewalk. He slammed on the brakes but he was too slow, the car crashed into a brick wall. _**

_**Danny forced his eyes open, his head was pounding. He groaned and looked around. They were in Matt's car... he looked across and saw Matt slumped against the steering wheel. **_

"**_Matt, wake up...Matt? Are you okay?" Danny asked shaking him but got no response. "No, god no! Matt!"_**

_**He heard sirens in the distance and as they got closer and closer, Danny began to panic. He caused the crash... and he was high and had a packet of cocaine in his jacket pocket. He'd get arrested... he'd lose his job. **_

_**He looked across at Matt one more time. "Hold on, okay... they're coming for you...just hang in there... I'm sorry..." **_

_**He pushed open the car door, looking around and saw that no one was around. He quickly got out and ran off down the road. **_

_**XxXxX**_

_**He went home and crashed out as soon as he sat down. When he woke up the next morning, it all came flooding back to him. How could he leave Matt there like that? He had to find out whether he was okay or not. Fear gripped his chest, what if he died...what if he killed his best friend. He shook his head, telling himself that Matt was strong and that he'd be okay.**_

_**As he reached down to pick up the phone, it started to ring. It was Wes, calling to tell him that Matt had been in an accident and was in hospital. He told Danny that the police believed that Matt had just lost control of the car, causing it to crash. Danny tried to act surprised and told Wes that he was going to go down to the hospital. **_

_**When he got there, he was told that Matt had 4 broken ribs, a fractured arm and concussion, which they were monitoring because he was unconscious for so long. **_

_**Danny walked into the room he was in and sat in the seat next to the bed, silently. After a few seconds, he saw Matt's eyes open slowly.**_

"**_Danny?" He mumbled, groggily. _**

"**_I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Danny told him. "I can't believe I did that...I hate myself..."_**

"**_Danny..." Matt said again, trying to cut in. _**

"**_I know you probably hate me and I don't blame you but I just needed to say sorry... please, you've got to know. I wouldn't hurt you on purpose. I'll do anything to make it up to you." _**

"**_You left me, Danny..." He whispered._**

"**_I know." He hung his head. "And I know you've got to tell the cops what really happened."_**

"**_I'm not going to tell them, Danny." Matt told him._**

"**_What?"_**

"**_I'm not going to tell them." He repeated. "But... but you need help."_**

"**_No, I'm okay..."_**

"**_Danny, you need help...please just get some help and if you do, we'll forget about this, okay?" _**

"**_Why do you want to help me after everything."_**

"**_You're my best friend, Danny... I'm always going to help you." He told him. "But you've got to help yourself."_**

_**Danny nodded slightly but didn't say anything. **_

"**_It'll be okay." Matt told him. "I promise...we'll get through this." _**

"**_Okay." Danny whispered, hoping his was right._**

_XxXxX_

"Danny? Are you okay?" Jordan asked, breaking his train of thought when she noticed him staring into space.

"Uh, yeah...Yeah I'm fine..." He assured her.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked.

"The past..." He whispered.

"Good times?" She questioned.

Danny shook his head slightly. "No, not really..."

"Oh..."

"He did so much for me, Jordan..." Danny told her. "Before I di...before I, y'know... I've got to repay him somehow."

Jordan smiled slightly and took his hand. "I'm sure he doesn't need you to repay him."

"I know but I need too."

"Okay." She replied. "Let me know if you need any help."

He smiled at her slightly. "Thank you."

"No problem." She returned the smile.

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! Thanks for the reviews! Please keep them coming!! I hope you like this!! **

**Enjoy!! **

**Always There**

Matt walked into his office, making sure to close the door behind him before pulling the pill bottle out of his pocket, glancing around to make sure no one was watching through one of the many windows. When he was sure he wasn't being watched he opened the bottle, shaking the pills into his hand.

Danny was looking for him, Andy had told him when he went down to the writers' room. So far Matt's plan was working, he had pretty much insulted and upset every cast member to the point where Tom had to step in to stop Simon from hitting him. Although, he did get a slap from Jeannie when he implied the only reason he slept with her was because he was high on painkillers and wouldn't even think about it when he was sober because she's just way too easy.

He could lie to them all, it wasn't an easy thing to do but he had too. It was going to be different with Danny though. They had known each other for such a long time and, they had been through so much that Matt didn't think he was capable of lying to Danny without him noticing. That's why he was taking the pills. They turned him into a different person.

Just as he went to bring the pills to his mouth, his hands started to shake and he dropped them on the floor.

"Crap!" He said, bending down to pick them up but hit his head on the desk as he did. "Fuck!"

He picked up the pills and stood up straight, rubbing his head, looking in the mirror. There was no blood but a big red mark. Then his eyes caught the small white scar that ran across his hairline. His fingers gently brushed over it. It was from the crash, his mind going back to everything that had happened 11 years ago. He remembered how for the first 10 months that Matt had known Danny; he was like a big brother to him. Everything started to go wrong when Danny was working more and started fighting with his first wife, Lisa. Matt had spent a lot of time at their house and had gotten along well with her that was until one night when the three of them were meant to be going out for dinner, Danny accused them of being too close. He was convinced that they were having an affair and wouldn't believe them when they said they weren't. That was the first time that Matt realised that Danny was in trouble, but he didn't want to admit it. Instead he stayed away from Lisa and for a while everything went back to normal, or that's what Matt wanted to think, deep down Matt knew that Danny was putting on an act for him. He knew the reason he didn't say anything because Danny was like his hero... he didn't want to believe that his hero was falling.

Things got worse when Lisa told him she wanted a divorce and that she was moving back home to New York. Danny pretended not to be upset but Matt knew he was heartbroken. He tried to help his friend but he didn't know how too. Every time Matt brought up the subject of drugs, Danny would make a joke and then start talking about something else. After a while, Matt decided to just go along with what Danny wanted. He still feels guilty about it now and wished he had done things differently.

He snapped back from his thoughts when he heard a noise outside his office but it was only a few members of the crew walking past. He turned his attention back to the pills in his hand. Did he really need to do this? They had gotten through so much in the past. Maybe they could do it again... he shook his head. No, it wasn't the same. They wouldn't be able to do it again because there was nothing Matt could do this time to save Danny. Without another thought, he threw the pills into his mouth, swallowing them dry.

_XxXxX_

He could see people watching him as he walked down the corridor with a cardboard box in his hand but no one spoke, too afraid of what kind of reply they'd get. He was looking for Harriet; he went to her dressing room but was told she was on the stage running through lines with Jeannie.

"Harriet?" He called, stepping up onto the stage.

Both girls turned around when they heard him.

"I'll see you later." Jeannie said to Harriet before walking away, trying to get as far away from Matt as she could.

"I heard what you said to her, you were out of line." Harriet told him.

"If you say so." He rolled his eyes.

"What do you want, Matthew?" She sighed.

"I wanted to give you this." He handed her the box he was carrying.

"What is it?"

"Just some stuff that was left at my house." He answered. "It was taking up too much space. If you don't want it then just dump it or something."

She looked at him surprised and opened the box, it was filled of stuff that she had left when she use to stay over at his house, and there were a few presents that she had given him. She pulled out a small jewellery box. She knew what was inside but still opened it. She looked at the cuff links and then up at him.

"I gave you this for your birthday." She told him.

He just shrugged in reply.

"Keep them, they were a gift for you."

"I don't want them." He told her. "I never wear them."

"God, Matthew what the hell is the matter with you?" She asked. "All you've done is upset everyone today."

"There's nothing wrong with me, maybe I'm sick of being in this place!"

"So you've decided to make everyone else as miserable as you are?"

"No but that's a good idea." He answered, sarcastically.

"Y'know what, I'm really not in the mood for this." She sighed, holding out the cuff links to him again. "Just take them."

"No."

"Don't you give a damn about our relationship?" She asked.

"We broke up, remember?" He replied. "Why should I give a damn about it?"

"Because you said you loved me!"

"And you said you didn't believe me..." He cut in.

"Matthew..."

"This is crazy! Why are we even having this conversation?" He asked. "You ended it and now I'm trying to move on with my life and you're whining over some stupid cuff-links!"

She stared at him for a moment. "Stupid cuff-links? They belonged to my father and I gave them to you because I loved you. Even thought we are now broken up, I wanted you to keep them because you'll always mean so much to me, but if you're going to act like this then I don't want anything more to do with you."

"Good, we're on the same page then." He replied.

She didn't say any more, instead she started to walk away, trying to hold onto her tears.

_Piss Harriet off – tick_

Matt sighed and sat down on the edge of the stage. He hated himself for what he had just done, but he knew it was the right thing to do. It still didn't stop it from breaking his heart though.

"Matt?" Danny walked towards him with Jordan by his side.

"Just leave me alone." He muttered.

"What the hell is going on?" Danny asked. "Almost everyone has complained about your behaviour!"

Matt stood up turning away from Danny.

"Matt!" Danny grabbed his arm and tried to force him to look at them.

"Get off!" Matt pushed his hand away, causing Danny to stumble back.

They stared at each other both of them shocked by what he'd just done.

"Just one more thing, Matthew..." Harriet stormed back towards him. She had been half way to her dressing room when her hurt faded into anger. She stopped when she saw the two of them looking at each other, neither of them noticing she had come back.

"Matt, tell me what's going on?" Danny whispered, worried for his friend.

"Nothing is going on." Matt replied.

"Don't lie to me." Danny stated. "I know you, I know something isn't right."

"Well, maybe you don't know me as well as you thought you did." He muttered.

"What is that meant to mean?"

"Nothing... it means, nothing." Matt stated. "Are we done here?"

"Don't walk away from me, Matt!" Danny said when he turned away again. "I want to help you..."

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Matt suddenly shouted. "I'm sick of this!"

"Of what?"

"Of you treating me like some kid!" He answered. "I'm sick of this whole damn place!"

"Matt!"

"No! You wanted to know what's wrong with me so listen!"

"Okay, fine."

"I hate this place! I should have never came back, it was the biggest mistake of my life. I have to see her everyday!" He ranted, gesturing to Harriet who was now stood by Jordan. "And every time I do, I remember what an idiot I was to think that our relationship was real..."

"Okay, maybe you should calm down..." Danny tried to cut in, knowing Matt would say something he'd regret later.

"And then there's you! Everyone thinks we're the best of friends yet all we do is lie to each other." He stated.

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked frowning.

"I should have walked away from you when I had the chance." Matt mumbled, the room falling silent.

Danny didn't know what to say to that. He didn't know where all this came from. He knew that Matt was having a hard time dealing with everything at the moment but he had never acted like this before.

"I can't believe how selfish you're being..." Jordan was the one who broke the silence.

Matt turned to look at her. "Oh shut up, you don't know the half of it."

"Hey, don't talk to her like that." Danny told him.

"I think you're forgetting who your boss is." Jordan glared at him.

"No, I'm haven't." Matt shook his head. "I haven't got a boss."

"What?"

"Haven't spoke to Jack yet?" He asked, sarcastically. "I thought he'd be shouting it from the rooftops."

"Shouting what?" Danny questioned but already knew the answer.

"I've quit."

"Matthew, don't be crazy..." Harriet started.

"You're just going to leave?" Jordan asked. "After everything Danny's done for you!"

"He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

Simon, Tom, Cal and Jeannie had heard the shouting and came to see what was going on.

"Don't care that he's going to die?!" Jordan asked. "How would you feel if it was the other way around? If Danny ran off and left you to die!?"

Matt let out a laugh when she said that.

"What's so funny?!" She demeaned.

"Matt, lets just go up into my office and talk about this all?" Danny said, causing Matt to turn his attention away from Jordan.

"What's the point?"

"Because I want to know why you're leaving?!" He claimed. "I don't want you to go."

"Well, payback is a bitch, isn't it?" Matt replied.

"What?"

"Come on, Danny, you know what I'm talking about...do you really want me to say it out loud so everyone finds out?"

"You really expect me to believe that all of this is because of something that happened 11 years ago?" Danny asked, starting to lose his temper with Matt's attitude. "If you really hated me for what happened then why haven't you brought it up before? Why have you stayed my friend?!"

"A mixture of pity and guilt." Matt replied.

"Excuse me?!"

"Everyone else left you! Even Lisa got fed up and divorced you." Matt replied. "You had no one. What was I meant to do? That and the fact Lisa asked me to take care of you."

"And that's the only reason you've been my friend for the past 11 years?!"

"Well, no not really..." Matt shrugged. "Being your friend helped me get noticed. Plus everyone was more interested in hiring the two of us together instead of on our own."

No one else in the room spoke. They knew Matt had been acting like a jerk but they never dreamed he'd be like this, especially towards Danny.

Danny didn't know whether to believe him or not. It was getting harder and harder to be understanding towards him.

"You said guilt."

"What?"

"You said it was a mixture of pity and guilt..." Danny reminded him. "What did you feel guilty about?"

"You're probably better off not knowing..." Matt replied only because he didn't have an answer.

"No, I want to know!"

"Does it really matter?!" Matt asked, searching his brain for a reason.

"Yes!"

"Okay fine...Lisa." He replied, saying the first thing that came into his head.

"Lisa?' Danny repeated. "What about her?"

"Do you need me to spell it out?"

"You... you...slept...you slept with her?"

"But don't worry, it was after she moved..." He replied. "Ironically, it was your accusations that gave us the idea."

Next, Danny did something he never thought he'd do. He swung his fist, punching Matt in the mouth. He watched him fall backwards to the floor, blood starting to pour from his lip but he didn't care. He was giving up on him. He didn't have the strength to deal with him away.

"Do what the hell you want. Leave, Whatever. I don't care!" Danny told him before storming off.

Everyone stared down at Matt, who was watching Danny leaving in total shock.

_Pissing Danny off – Double tick _

**TBC**

**Please review and let me know what you think!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, guys here's the next part, hope you like it! Please review!

Enjoy!!!

**Always There**

Jordan followed Danny, who stormed into his office, slamming doors as he went. Jordan paused in the doorway, seeing him with his back to her, leaning on his desk.

"Danny." 

"Don't say anything."

"Maybe you should just calm down and talk to him again…" She suggested, walking over, rubbing his shoulders.

"I don't know what's going on with him." He whispered.

"I know."

"I don't know whether he means it or not."

"What did he mean when he said payback?" Jordan asked. "Why would he need to get you back?"

Danny sighed. "I did some bad things when I was using."

"Something that deserves leaving you when you need him?"

"There are a lot of things that you don't know." He whispered.

Jordan turned him to face her. "Like what?"

"Jordan…"

"Danny, tell me… maybe I can help."

"I don't know…"

"Don't you trust me?"

"No, of course I do…" He claimed. "But… this… this is something between me and Matt…we don't talk about it."

"Maybe that's the problem now."

Danny rubbed his eyes; he couldn't believe this was happening.

"How bad can it be?"

He looked at her for a second before answering. "I almost killed him."

"What?"

"11 years ago… he came to pick me up from a club because I was high and I wanted to go back… I grabbed the steering wheel and the car crashed into a wall."

"Oh my god…" Jordan stuttered. "How…how come that never came out in the press?"

"When it happened Matt was just starting out as a writer, no one knew him." Danny sighed sitting down.

"What about after, when you two got famous… surely it's on record somewhere." She replied, worried that it would all come out.

"No, just that Matt lost control and crashed the car."

"Didn't they notice you were high?"

"I wasn't there…" He mumbled.

"But I thought you said that you were the one that…"

"I ran." He cut in.

"What?"

"I ran… after it crashed, I got scared and ran off… I thought he was dead…I thought I killed him…" He told her. "So I ran."

"God, Danny…" She whispered.

"He has every reason to hate me…" He said quietly.

"But…this was 11 years ago… Why now?"

Danny shrugged slightly, wondering whether there was any other time in his friendship with Matt that could explain why he was acting like this.

_**11 years earlier**_

_**Danny woke up, looking around the strange room, confused. Then he remembered, 2 days ago Matt took him to rehab. The memory of the cocaine, the crash and his promise to Matt were all coming back to him. **_

**_He was about to sit up when he realised he wasn't in the room alone. Matt and Lisa were stood talking by the window and hadn't noticed he was awake. He was surprised Lisa was back; she hadn't been in LA since the day she walked out on him. Matt must have called her. He stayed still, listening to their conversation. _**

"_**I knew there was something wrong… I just wished he would have let me help." Lisa said tearfully. **_

"**_I know…"  
_**

"**_Why did he have to do this?" She asked. "Wasn't he happy?"_**

**_Matt sighed. "I don't know, I wish I did…"_**

"All the stuff he did…you were the only one who managed to stick by him…"

**_  
"Maybe he did all that stuff to piss everyone off, so we would walk away from him…" Matt stated. "Maybe he wanted to be left alone and knew it would easier for us to leave him to it if we all hated him." _**

"**_Or maybe he was just high…" Lisa replied. "I'm sorry, Matty but he doesn't deserve you to stick around."_**

"**_He's done so much for me..." Matt whispered. "I'm not leaving." _**

**_Danny silently listened, guilt washing over him. He couldn't believe that Matt still wanted to be his friend. He knew he had let him down; he hated himself for it but decided that he was going to fight this addiction and win. He was going to make Matt proud to look up to him again. _**

**_The room was quiet and it wasn't long until Danny fell asleep again and this time when he woke up, he saw Lisa sitting alone next to his bed, reading a magazine. _**

"**_Hi." He whispered. "Where's Matt?"_**

"**_I sent him home to get some rest." She told him, putting down the magazine. "He's still recovering from the crash." _**

"_**Maybe you could convince him not be here everyday…" Danny said. **_

"**_I'll try but he's worried about you."_**

_**Danny looked down. "I know." **_

"**_What the hell happened, Danny?" She asked. "Was it something I did?" _**

"No…no it's no one's fault," He told her. "It just happened." 

"**_A cocaine addiction doesn't just happen." She claimed before sighing. "I'm sorry… We don't have to talk about this." _**

"**_I didn't mean to hurt anyone." He whispered. "At least of all you or Matt."_**

"I know." She replied and silence fell over them. 

"_**So, how… how have you been?" He asked after a few seconds. **_

"**_Okay, I guess…I got a new job, it's going well." _**

"**_Good." He replied. "I'm glad you're happy." _**

"_**Thanks." **_

"_**Do you like it in New York?"**_

**_  
"Yeah, I love it…" _**

"_**When you going back?" **_

"_**Tonight."**_

**_  
"Oh…"_**

"I'm sorry, Danny… I care about you; I always will, but I can't just drop everything and come back here… I've moved on and me hanging around won't help you to move on." She told him. "I Only came back because Matt called me…"  


"_**I understand..."**_

**_  
"I'm sorry…"_**

"Don't be…" 

_XxXxX_

"Danny, are you okay?" Jordan asked when he just staring off into space.

"Uh, oh yeah just thinking…"

"About what?" 

"The past." He replied, he couldn't get that conversation he'd heard Matt and Lisa have when they thought he was asleep, out of his head.

_XxXxX_

Matt stood by the window that over looked the stage. Harriet, Tom, Cal, Simon and Jeannie were still down there. Probably talking about what they had just witnessed. He heard the door open but didn't turn to look to see who it was.

"Matt?" Suzanne said. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, just get out." He whispered.

"But..." 

"Get out!" He shouted.

"Okay…sorry…" She stuttered, turning to leave.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Everything was such a mess and it was all his fault, that's why he had to leave. After a few seconds he turned and started to throw some of the stuff off his desk into a cardboard box. He picked up a photo frame. On one side there was a picture of the whole cast, the writers, Cal, Danny and him. The picture opposite was one that was taken almost 2 years ago, when Harriet and him had just started to date and they were at Danny's birthday party. Harriet was sat on Matt's lap and Danny was stood behind them. He stared at it for a moment before throwing it into the box.

_XxXxX_

"This is crazy…" Simon stated. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Tom said. "There's got to be more to this when they're telling us."

Harriet noticed they were all looking at her. "I don't know anything." 

"Maybe Matt's reacting to Danny being ill." Cal suggested.

"No, he wouldn't just leave Danny like this." Harriet sighed.

"And why would he want to piss us all off?" Jeannie asked. "Some of the stuff he's been saying was really horrible."

"Like I said, this is crazy." Simon repeated.

_XxXxX_

"Danny, are you sure you're okay?" Jordan asked.

"This isn't making sense." He whispered.

"What doesn't?" 

"He's acting so out of character… he doesn't react like this normally…" He replied. "He doesn't piss people off on purpose like he has been…"

"Maybe he's just fed up…"

'_Maybe he did all that stuff to piss everyone off so we would walk away from him…'_

"He's lying!" He suddenly exclaimed, jumping up, startling Jordan.

"What?" She asked.

"He's lying so I'd let him leave." He told her, heading for the door.

"Danny, wait a minute…" She got up to follow him.

Danny went into Matt's office and saw it was empty, with most of Matt's stuff missing.

"Damn it." He mumbled, turning to head down stairs.

When he reached the top of the stairs that led down to the stage, he saw Matt walking towards the door, the others all silently watching him.

"Matt, wait…" Danny called, starting to run down the stairs, with Jordan following.

Matt turned back and looked at Danny, knowing he had worked it out. He started walking again, he just needed to leave, then he could disappear, it would be too late for Danny to do anything then.

Danny ran towards him, realising he wasn't going to wait for him. Once he was close enough, he jumped forwards crashing into the back off Matt, sending them both flying to the floor, the contents of Matt's box spilling onto the floor.

"Danny!" Jordan exclaimed, worried he'd hurt himself.

"Get off!" Matt tried to push him away.

"No, you're not leaving!" Danny told him.

After a few seconds of watching Danny and Matt wrestling on the floor, Simon and Tom pulled them apart.

"You were lying!" Danny stated, trying to get free but Simon let him go.

"Whatever you want to believe…" Matt started.

"Do you know what you're problem is?"

"At the moment, it's you…"

"You over think things!" Danny told him. "You always have… You always have to know the reason behind everything…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

"When I was addicted to coke… you thought I only did it push you and Lisa away…" He claimed. "You thought I was trying to piss you off…"

"I don't…"

"I heard you talking to her… I heard you tell her that you thought I was trying to piss you off so it would be easier to walk away!"

Matt stopped trying to free himself from Tom and just stared at Danny.

"Just…. just let me go, Danny… please…" He whispered. "It's… it's for the best."

"No…you're running away!" He replied. "I'm not going to let you."

"Danny."

"Why, Matt?" He asked. Simon had let him go and walked closer to Matt. "What's going on?"

"It…. it…it doesn't matter…" He looked down. "Just let me leave."

"The night of the crash…" Danny started, noticing Matt tensing at the mention of it but he carried on. "I thought I killed you…I thought you were dead…I wanted to die…that's why I ran… I was scared… then the next thing I know, you're in hospital begging me to get help."

"This isn't the same." Matt whispered.

"No I know but you're running away from something…and I know its me or the illness…I know its not even Harriet or even anyone else here."

"You don't need to know." Matt told him. "You'll just worry and you don't need that now…you need to concentrate on yourself."

"Matt, you were there for me and I want to be there for you, no matter what it is."

There was silence, Matt glanced behind Danny to where everyone else was stood, watching, He then looked at Danny, biting his lip when he felt his eyes starting to sting. He slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out the small box that he was hiding his pills in and carefully passed it Danny, making sure no one else to see.

Danny got more concerned when he saw a few tears in his friend's eye. Matt never cried. He carefully opened the box, looking down at the pills.

"Matt." He whispered, not knowing what else to see.

"I'm sorry." Matt replied, not being able to hold onto his emotions anymore. "I'm so sorry!"

Danny shoved the box into his pocket quickly and pulled Matt to him.

"It's okay…" He whispered. "It'll be okay."

Everyone watched them confused and concerned.

**TBC**

**Please review!! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, here's the next part! Hope you like it! Please review!! **

**Enjoy!! **

**Always There**

No one had spoken since Danny had silently led Matt away up to his office, 10 minutes ago but none of them left. Harriet couldn't stop shaking, she knew there was something terrible going on, she just didn't know what. She had never seen Matt like that before... she had never seen him lose control of his emotions. He had always been strong; he had always stayed in control. She hated seeing him like that...

Jordan couldn't work out what was happening. She thought it was all to do with Danny being ill, but after seeing what she just witnessed she knew it was something else.

She watched as Harriet slowly walked over to the place where Matt had dropped his box and slowly started putting all his stuff back inside. She picked up the photo frame, staring at the picture of her, Matt and Danny. Tears filled her eyes... why couldn't they be that happy again? Everything seemed so perfect back then. She knew it could never be like that again. Danny was dying and no matter how hard Matt tries to come to terms with it, he will never be the same person again, not without Danny. It broke her own heart thinking about how much pain he'd be in when he loses his best friend.

_XxXxX_

Danny was leaning against the edge of Matt's desk, just watching him. He was sat on the couch, his head bowed downwards, holding his jacket closed, tightly around him. From where Danny was he could he was shaking and he wasn't sure whether it was because he was cold, in shock or even some kind of side effect from the pills.

Neither of them had spoken since they walked into the office. Danny didn't know what to say to him. He was starting to wonder how Matt had coped 11 years ago when the roles were reversed.

He sighed and stood up straight, he walked over and sat next to him. Matt moved his head slightly to give him a sideward glance but didn't say anything.

"We're going to get you help, okay." Danny said quietly.

"I can't..." He whispered, shaking his head.

"Yes, you can... I know you can." Danny told him.

"I don't want help."

"But you need it, Matt."

"Why?" He turned to look at him properly, tears filled in his eyes. "What's the point?"

"Because if you carry on like this you'll end up killing yourself!"

Matt just stared at him for a moment before looking back at the floor.

"Tell me... tell me your not thinking about killing your..." He stopped - he couldn't finish the sentence. He waited for a few seconds but got no response. "Matt!"

"Just forget about it, okay?" Matt mumbled.

"I can't just forget about it!" He exclaimed. "God, Matt you really thought about it?"

He looked at him again and nodded slightly.

"When?"

He shrugged slightly. "I don't know."

"When?!"

"I don't know, Danny!" He raised his voice slightly. "Just lately with everything going on... I just..."

"You were just going to give up?!"

"You don't understand..." He whispered, turning away again.

"Then explain it to me, Matt..." He replied. "That's what I'm here for...That's what friends are for!"

"You have too much to worry about..."

"Oh stop it! I'm not dead yet!" He exclaimed, he noticed Matt flinch at the word 'yet' but he didn't stop. "I'm still here, Matt... I'll always be right here for you... like you were for me!"

"I though it would have been for the best." Matt answered. "Just for me to be out of the way. Then none of you had to worry about me."

"Do you know how many people you would have devastated if you went through with it??"

He shrugged again and didn't say anything.

"Why didn't you?" Danny questioned. "Why didn't you go through with it?"

"I was scared."

"Of dying?"

"Of failing." He said honestly. "If I survived...I wouldn't be able to deal with everyone knowing what I tried to do... I couldn't cope with being able to see how it effected people."

Danny looked at him for a moment, trying to take it all in. "When did it get this bad, Matt?"

"I don't know..." He whispered. "I never wanted it to go this far... I just... I couldn't stop it."

"You should have talked to me... It might have helped."

"I know but there was all this stuff with Harriet...I told you, I could handle it... and then...then the writers left and I had so much work to do... I didn't feel funny... and being funny is the only thing I'm good at... What else did I have?"

"You had me!"

He shook his head. "You need to be with Jordan... especially with everything that is happening."

"Matt, you and I have been best friends for years and years... you're like a brother to me... I'm always going to be here for you no matter what's going on in my life." He told him.

"I didn't want to worry you."

"I know but it's okay, now..." Danny assured him. "It will all be okay."

Matt nodded slightly and sat back against the couch. Danny watched him, seeing him slowly start to relax. Talking about it all obviously helped. After a few minutes, Danny noticed that Matt had actually fallen asleep. He pulled his own jacket off and covered Matt with it before heading for the door.

Danny was surprised when he reached his own office to see, Jordan, Harriet, Cal, Tom, Simon and Jeannie waiting for him.

"What are you all doing here?" He asked.

"We wanted to see how Matt is." Tom told him.

"He's fine."

"Danny."

He sighed and looked at them. "I'm dealing with it."

"You can't, not on your own." Harriet spoke. "We... I want to help."

"I don't know whether that's a good idea."

"Danny, please..." She whispered.

He sighed again and looked around the room. "Why? After the way he's been acting, why do you want to help?"

"You said, that he tried to piss us off so we'd let him go." Jeannie started. "He must have thought he was trying to protect us from something...So, why wouldn't we want to help him?"

"You all feel like this?" Danny asked.

"Yeah…" Tom nodded.

"I've known you guys for years..." Cal shrugged. "I want to help any way I can."

"Me too." Simon added.

"This can't get out... If I find out that someone here has spoken to anyone else about this, then they'll have me to deal with!"

"We get the point." Jordan cut in. "Just tell us what is going on."

"Oh, no... Not you."

"Excuse me?"

"I can't tell you, you're the network president!"

"Danny!"

"Jordan, I can't risk it." He shook his head.

"I won't say anything!" She claimed. "I want to help Matt."

"I know but if any of this got out and they found out you knew, you could lose your job!"

"I don't care... Just let me help, please."

"I don't know."

"I'm not leaving!"

He sighed. "Okay fine."

"Thank you."

"Okay, well… Matt... he... he had a lot to deal with lately." He started. "It... It's all sort of gotten on top of him and... and he's made some mistakes."

"What sort of mistakes?" Harriet asked.

"He's... he's still taking the painkillers..."

"For his back? I didn't take it for this long after I had the operation..." Simon frowned, confused before it suddenly hit him what Danny was trying to say. "Oh."

"No, he can't be... he wouldn't..." Harriet stuttered. "It must be his back... that must be the reason. Maybe he should just go back and see his doctor..."

"Harri." Danny cut her off and when she looked at him, he shook his head slightly telling her she was wrong.

"He wouldn't Danny, after everything he saw you go through..."

"It doesn't work like that." Danny told her. "He started taking it for his back...it probably made him forget about everything that was happening so he didn't stop taking them..."

"But... I don't understand..."

"He's depressed, Harriet... He's giving up on himself, and he thought it would be best for everyone else to as well but I'm not going to let that happen... I'm not giving up on him. I'm going to help him get through this!"

She nodded slightly, stepping back, deep in thought. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"What happens now?" Jordan asked.

"I know a place where I can take him." Danny replied.

"And the show?" Tom asked. "People are going to wonder where he's gone."

"Plus, he writes the majority of it." Simon asked. "What are we going to do about that? We can't leave it up to Andy, Lucy and Darius."

"I don't know... I haven't thought that far ahead."

"We can go on hiatus early." Jordan suggested.

"What?"

"It'll be fine, I'll talk to Jack, and he won't need to know the reason behind it."

"But he would want to know."

"He suggested that we took earlier hiatus when he found out about you being ill." Jordan told him. "If anything, he'll just assume it's to do with that."

"I guess that could work but I still don't want the press finding out about me... not yet."

"They won't."

"We can't just take the show off the air without any explication." Cal claimed. "What about the fans?"

"We'll work out an excuse later." Jordan told him. "Lets just get Matt sorted first."

"Sounds good to me." Simon said.

"Yeah." Tom and Jeannie nodded.

"Okay, lets do it." Danny agreed.

"I'll call Jack." Jordan pulled out her cell.

Danny watched her and she put the phone to her ear, she looked across at him and smiled slightly. He returned the smile and mouthed 'thank you.'


	8. Chapter 8

Hey, guys sorry been a while since I updated! Please review!!

Enjoy!!

**Always There **

"I want to talk to him."

Danny looked up at Harriet. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Danny, please... I need to speak to him."

"Not yet, wait a while."

"I don't want to wait... I can't wait."

"Harriet, I don't think you're getting how depressed he is..."

"No, I get it... and I get that it's because of me." She replied. "I need to talk to him, to sort it out."

Danny sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It's not just because of you...He's been unhappy for a while...I never did anything about it."

Harriet was quiet for a moment. "Danny, you can't do this on you own... you need some help."

"I can handle this."

"You have so much already going on with your life..."

"Matt did it for me...I'm going to do it for him." He cut her off.

"Oh come on, Danny." Harriet rolled her eyes. "This is totally different."

"Yeah, the difference is that when I was going through this, it was my own choice, I knew what I was doing and I just didn't care." Danny replied. "Matt turned to this because he felt he had no other choice, because of the choices other people had made. He's depressed because he's back here, Harriet... And he's back here because of me."

She slowly sat down opposite him. "He wanted to come back... If he didn't, he wouldn't have..."

"He came back because I couldn't direct his movie and he didn't want someone else."

"Yeah, but if he really didn't want to be back here then he would have just not done anything until you could do the movie." She answered. "He's not depressed just because he came back here... It's because of everything that has happen between him and me... Neither of us has handled this very well or maturely. I thought he could handle it, but I guess with everything else going on, it all got too much for him."

"I wasn't there for him." Danny mumbled.

"He hid it from you." Harriet argued.

"But I knew there was something wrong and I believed him when he told me it wasn't a big deal!"

"Danny, I know how much you like to look after Matt and protect him, but he knew what he was doing." She told him. "He might not have realised how bad or serious it was, but he knew, and that's why he hid it from you. He was trying to protect you."

He looked up at her again. "I know."

"Let me talk to him." She said quietly. "Please."

He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Okay, fine...But call me if you need me."

"Okay." She nodded and stood up, heading for Matt's office.

_XxXxX_

"Why are you two down here?" Lucy asked, Simon and Tom.

"What do you mean?" Tom questioned glancing at Simon.

"Where's Matt?" Andy replied. "He's meant to be working with us on this."

"He's a little busy at the moment." Simon told them. "But he's asked us to come down instead."

"What's really going on?" Andy asked.

"Nothing..." Tom and Simon insisted together.

Andy just looked at them curiously. He could tell there was something else happening. He was pretty sure it had something to do with the way Matt had been acting lately. He sighed, deciding not to say anything and get on with the work.

_XxXxX_

Matt woke up, feeling the familiar sickness and aching. His first thought was to take some more pills, which always helped. He frowned when he saw he was covered in Danny's jacket but then he remembered everything that had happened. He told Danny everything.

"How you feeling?"

He looked up and was surprised to see Harriet sitting next to him. "Uh, okay, I guess..."

"Danny told me." She whispered.

"What?" Matt jumped up. "I can't believe him!"

"Matthew, calm down..." She stood up too. "I wanted to know. I want to help."

He looked at her. "I didn't want you to know."

"Why not?" She asked. "Don't you trust me?"

"It's not about trust." He whispered looking down.

"Then what's it about?"

"I didn't want you thinking..."

"Thinking what?"

"That it was your fault."

"What?"

"I remember with Danny, I kept thinking...maybe if I'd have done this or done that... then I could have stopped him... It's hard enough trying to cope with someone you care about doing something like... it's even worse when you blame yourself."

She stared at him for a moment, tears in her eyes. "But it was my fault."

He shook his head.

"Matthew, all those things I said to you...all those fights..."

He sat back down, holding his head in his hands for a moment before looking at her. "I'm not going to lie to you... it was partly because of you... but... but I don't want you to hurt... I don't want to be the cause of that... it will just make everything so much harder to handle."

She didn't know what to say to him. Instead she just knelt down in front of him and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

_XxXxX_

Jordan headed towards Jack's office; she just wished for once something would be simple. She knocked quietly, waiting for Jack to call out for her to come in.

"Have you got a minute to talk?" She asked, walking in.

He looked at his watch. "I have about 10 minutes."

"Okay, well I'll make this quick." She closed the door and stepped into the room fully. "I talked to Danny and Matt and we have all agreed it will be best if we take the offer of going on hiatus early."

Jack looked up from his paperwork, slightly surprised. He knew he gave them the option, but he never thought that Danny and Matt would go for it.

"Uh, okay..." He said slowly. "If you all agree that's the best idea."

"Don't you?"

"No, I do... it's just I didn't actually think they would agree."

"Well, they have."

"Okay, I'll get a press conference set up." He told her. "Tell Danny I'll let him know when it is..."

"What? Danny?"

"Well, yeah... he's the one that's sick, I think he should do it."

"No, he doesn't want anyone to know."

"Jordan, we can't just take the show off the air."

"But... but you can't tell anyone about him being ill."

"Why not?"

"Because you just can't."

"Jordan, what's going on?"

"Jack, please...just...just let me deal with this..." She pleaded; she was beginning to lose it. She could feel her eyes burning. She didn't know why, whether it was over Danny, Matt, the show or just hormones.

"I'm not pulling the show until I know what's going on." He told her. "Is it about Danny?"

She shook her head, looking downwards as tears started to fall.

"What reason could you possible have to take one of our best shows off the air early?!" He raised his voice slightly, he was so understanding when it was about Danny being ill, but now he was just getting annoyed.

"Because we don't have a writer."

"What are you talking about?" He asked. "Please don't tell me that Albie has quit again, I thought you said you convinced him to stay."

"No, not quit... not really."

"Jordan?"

"He needs to go away for a few days."

"He wants a holiday?"

"Not exactly..." She said slowly.

Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Jordan tell me what's going on right now!"

"Danny's got to take him to rehab." She said before she had chance to stop herself.

Jack just stared at her for a moment before replying. "Matt needs to go to rehab?"

Jordan slowly nodded; she couldn't believe she had just said that.

"You're kidding me?!" He exclaimed. "What the hell does he think he's doing?!"

"I don't think he's thinking to much..."

"This is a right mess!" He replied. "When the press finds out about this..."

"They can't find out...I promised Danny no one else would find out..." She quickly cut in. "Please, Jack... just, just don't say anything to anyone."

"Jordan, people will want to know why the show has been taken off the air."

"Please, let me deal with it...I'll make sure no one will find out about Matt and I'll find a good reason for why the show isn't on."

Jack thought about it for a moment, knowing it wasn't going to help the network if it got out that Matt needed to go into rehab.

"Okay, fine... I'm trusting you with this." He told her. "But we're half way through the week... Friday will be the last show."

"Uh okay..."

"Jordan...don't screw this up... I'll be watching closely."

She nodded slightly and headed for the door. Once she was outside, she leant back against the wall. She knew that Danny wouldn't forgive her if he found out she had told Jack what was going on.

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, guys... sorry I haven't updated in a while but the site wouldn't let me lol! Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it! Please review!! **

**Enjoy!!!**

**Always There**

Matt bounced his ball up and down on the desk; he was frustrated and only stopped when Danny glanced up at him from his laptop. He sighed, they had been sitting there in silence for over 2 hours, and they were waiting to find out what Jack Rudolph had to say about the show going on hiatus early. Danny had informed Matt that Jordan wasn't going to tell Jack anything that was going on, and that they were just going hint that they were doing it because of Danny's illness. Matt didn't like the idea of them lying to everyone about it, especially using Danny's situation because Matt screwed up and got caught doing drugs, but Danny had told him it was all for the best.

Now Matt was bored, he didn't know what to do. He wasn't in the mood for writing and Danny wouldn't let him leave his sight for a second. The fact that he was a prisoner in his own office made him want to take his pills even more. They helped him in situations like this; he didn't think it would be such a big deal. He just needed them because everyone around him was acting all crazy about what they discovered and with Danny being ill, they had all managed to somehow convince Matt that he had a problem, but they didn't know what it was like. He could handle it; it wasn't as if it was cocaine or anything like that. It was just a few pills to help him get through the day. He knew though, that if he didn't do as they asked then they wouldn't leave him alone. If he wanted any peace and any chance of his life returning to normal, all he'd have to do would be to go into rehab for a few weeks and then everything will be fine. No big deal... He wasn't a drug addict... he just needed a little extra help and that's what the pills did.

He sighed loudly, causing Danny to look at him over the top of his glasses but his friend still didn't say anything. Matt stood up and slowly started to walk around the office.

"Just sit down, okay." Danny finally broke the silence.

"I'm bored."

"I've noticed."

"Why can't I just go home?" Matt asked. "I'll meet you there."

"No." Danny shook his head, looking back at his laptop. He knew that Matt was a grown man and if he wanted to, he could walk out of that door right now and even if Danny tried to stop him, he wouldn't be able to do.

Matt sighed again; falling onto the couch and Danny couldn't help but compare his action to some teenage kid that wasn't allowed to go to a party.

"Why don't you just lie down and try to get some sleep?" Danny suggested.

"Not tired." He muttered.

"I can get Suzanne to run out and get you some food."

"Not hungry."

"Any idea for a sketch..."

"For some strange reason, I'm not feeling in a very funny mood." Matt snapped sarcastically.

"What is your..." Danny started but stopped himself, taking a deep breath, really not wanting to get into an argument with Matt whilst he was being so difficult and immature. "Y'know what, just sit there and shut up. Jordan will be back soon, once we know what's happening we'll get out of here."

"Fine." Matt mumbled.

After a few minutes of moving around on the couch, Matt lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He frowned when he saw there was something taped to it then it suddenly hit him. Two weeks ago, Danny had been complaining about the mess in Matt's office, saying that whenever he came in to look for something, he could never find it. So, he asked Suzanne to tidy it up for Matt. He had been worried that she would find his stash of pills so when she had gone to grab some cleaning products; he tried to find the best place to hide them. He didn't want to take any risks, so he wrapped them up in some paper and taped it to the ceiling in the corner, hoping no one would notice. He had completely forgotten about it himself, and briefly wondered whether he'd be able to get up, get the pills and take them without Danny even noticing, but before he could put his plan into action, the door opened and Jordan walked in.

"How did it go?" Danny asked, standing straight away.

"He's agreed to go on hiatus early."

"Yeah? What did you tell him?" Danny questioned.

"Just that you guys have agreed to take his offer of finishing up earlier." She told him. "He wanted to do a press release."

"What?" Concern began filling Danny's face.

"Don't worry, I've told him that you don't want anyone knowing the reason why a break is needed." She assured him. "He's agreed to let me deal with this...I said, I'd come up with a plausible reason to tell the press and the fans."

"And Jack doesn't know anything about Matt?"

"No." She lied, after hesitating slightly. "He doesn't know."

Danny sighed in relief. "That's good. Thank you."

She forced a small smile. "You don't need to thank me...but there is one problem."

"What?"

"He wants us to carry on doing the show for Friday."

"What? We... we can't..." He told her. "You told him, we couldn't right?"

"Yes, but then he wanted to know why... I couldn't think of anything to tell him." She hated lying to Danny, but he didn't need to know the truth. She was pretty sure that Jack would keep what she told him, to himself.

"I'll stay."

They both turned to look at Matt.

"No." Danny told him.

"Come on Danny, you need me here."

"No, I need you to sort yourself out."

"I can do that Friday." He stood up walking over to him. "Look, it's Tuesday already. I promise I'll only leave this office for work related purposes and even then you can come with me... If you really need to keep an eye on me."

Danny looked at Jordan, who shrugged slightly, telling him she didn't know what to decide.

"Oh, I'd need to keep an eye on you." He replied. "Okay, fine... you stay in here and write, if you want to leave then you let me know, got it?"

"Right." Matt nodded, smiling slightly but not because he was being allowed to stay and do the show, but because this would give him the chance to get those pills.

"And if I'm not around, I'll get someone else to do it... Jordan, Cal, Harriet..."

"God, Danny I'm 35... I don't need a babysitter."

"Matt!" Danny glared at him slightly.

"Okay, fine..." He agreed, seeing this would be the only way Danny would agree. "Just let me do this, let me help out... just to say sorry for screwing up."

Danny's glare faded slightly at those words. "Okay, you can do it..."

"Great."

"Just don't let me down, okay?"

"Okay." Matt grinned, moving to his desk and turning on his computer. "I'm going to get back to work."

"Me too, I'll see you later." Jordan kissed Danny's cheek. "Bye Matt."

"Yeah, yeah... bye." Matt muttered.

Danny smiled slightly at her as she left. Looking back at Matt thinking that look of concentration on his face was because of a funny sketch he thinking up, but Matt was just thinking about when and how he could retrieve the pills without anyone noticing

"I'm going to grab a coffee... you want one?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, that would be a good." Matt looked up briefly.

"Okay...I'll be right back...Don't go anywhere."

"I won't, I promise." Matt replied, this time not taking his eyes off the screen in front of him, but then stopped when he heard the door close. He got up, pulling his chair over to the corner, looking around to make sure no one was watching before standing up on the chair and un-taping the pills. He jumped back to the floor, smiling as he unwrapped them. He threw some into his mouth before swallowing some water. He re-wrapped the rest of the pills and put them in his pocket. By the time Danny returned, he was sat back at his desk, feeling much more relaxed and calm.

"I'll give you some space..." Danny told him, when he saw Matt typing fast, obviously working on something and Danny didn't want to distract him.

"Okay." Matt replied.

"Remember, let me know if you need to go anywhere."

"Okay, I promise." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Okay." Danny repeated, before turning towards the door again.

Once he was alone, Matt stopped typing. He knew he should probably feel guilty about lying to Danny but at this moment in time, he just didn't care.

_XxXxX_

It was Friday morning and was Simon's turn to keep an eye on Matt, who was particularly cranky. He had taken all his pills the night before and didn't know how or where he could get some more.

"So, it looks like it'll be a good show tonight." Simon commented as they walked towards Matt office.

"Whatever." He muttered.

Simon sighed, he knew Matt was only acting like this because of everything that was going on, but he was being to lose his patience. He shouldn't have to babysit his boss.

Matt was close to turning around and telling Simon to get lost before storming out of the studio when he saw that singer, Diana Vlades walking towards them.

"Matt, it's good to see you again." She smiled at him. "And Simon, you too."

"Hey, Diana...what are you doing here?" Simon questioned.

"Oh nothing much, I just stopped by because I left some of my clothes here by mistake." She smiled at him before turning to Matt. "So, how have you been Matt?"

He nodded slightly. "Good, I guess..."

Simon looked from Matt to Diana, curiously.

"Why don't you come up to my office and we can have a proper catch up?" Matt suggested.

She looked at him for a few seconds, hoping to be able to read his eyes as to what he really wanted her for, but she couldn't, they were so dull and looked empty.

She nodded slightly. "Yeah, okay... I guess, I've got a bit of spare time."

"Well, I'll give you guys some privacy..." Simon told them, assuming that something had happened between the two of them when Diana performed on the show.

"Thanks." Matt said to him, before leading Diana to his office.

"So, what's up?" She asked him when he closed the door behind them.

"I was wondering... if you had any... any thing for me."

"For you?" She asked, but she knew exactly what he meant.

"Yeah...like... like last time."

She sighed. "What's going on Matt?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you so desperate?"

"There's nothing going on." He told her.

"Okay, fine..." She went to leave.

"Okay, okay..." He stopped her. "Some people found out that I was taking the pills."

"I bet that went down well."

"Exactly... So I have gone clean..." He told her.

She sighed. "Matt, I don't know you very well, but you seem like a nice guy... so, so maybe it will be better if I just leave now before you do something you'll regret later."

"What?"

"If you're serious about going clean, then don't ruin it now."

"It's not a big deal..." He sighed. "My friend, he's taking me into rehab tonight... but we need to do the show first... I just need a little help to get through it."

"I don't know..." She said slowly.

"Please..."

_XxXxX_

"Hey, Sim...Where's Matt?" Danny asked as Jordan and him walked in and saw Simon talking to Tom.

"He's in his office."

"I thought you said, you'd keep an eye on him."

"I was but Diana Vlades showed up... So, I left them to it." Simon shrugged. "I think, he's got a thing for her."

Danny glared at him and shook his head, before turning and heading towards Matt's office. He didn't know Diana Vlades at all, and had no reason to believe she had anything to do with Matt's drug problem, but equally he had reason not to believe she did. He walked straight into the office without knocking, just to see her handing Matt a bag.

"Danny...?" Matt looked at him, confused. "What's up?"

"What's this?" Danny accused, snatching the bag out of his hand.

"It's a CD..." He frowned as Danny pulled the CD out.

"Matt said he liked my music and I had a spare copy in my car." Diana explained.

"I'm sorry." Danny sighed.

"What did you think it was?" Matt questioned.

Danny looked at him, seeing the hurt look on his face. "Nothing, I didn't think it was anything..."

"Yeah, okay." Matt replied, as Danny handed him back the bag.

"I'll be in my office if you need me." Danny told him.

"Okay." Matt watched him leave.

"He seems like a good friend." Diana broke the silence after a few minutes. "You shouldn't lie to him."

Matt sighed. "It's just for tonight."

"I'd better get going." She replied but stopped in the doorway. "Good luck...and look after yourself, okay?"

"Thanks... you too." He smiled slightly.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Once he was alone, Matt pulled out the CD, opening the cover and smiled when he saw pills where the CD was meant to be.

_XxXxX_

Jordan headed back towards Matt's office. She had been watching the live show with him, but needed to go to the bathroom. She asked him if he'd be okay on his own and he just mumbled some sort of word that she decided to take for a yes. She frowned when she saw Matt wasn't there any more, but then realised the show had ended and he had probably gone to talk to Danny.

"Danny?" Jordan called out, walking towards him. "Have you seen Matt?"

"I thought you were meant to be with him?"

"I was... but ... I just...I just went to the ladies... when I came back he was gone." She explained, concern growing on them both. "I thought he might have come down here."

Danny looked around, trying to see if he could spot him anywhere in the crowd.

"Hey, Dan-o, good show." Cal walked up behind him.

"Have you seen Matt?"

"No."

"He's gone." Danny was starting to panic, he was meant to be taking him straight to the rehab clinic right after the show. What if he had run away? What if he did something stupid?

"He can't have gone far." Cal claimed.

"What's going on?" Tom, Harriet and Simon appeared behind them.

"We can't find, Matt." Cal explained.

"Well, lets all split up and look for him." Jordan suggested.

"Yeah, come on... he has to be here somewhere." Harriet added.

"I hope so..." Danny whispered.

_XxXxX_

Matt walked into the writers' room, slamming the door against the wall but no one was in there. He wasn't happy... he had watched the show and it wasn't funny... none of it made sense, and he couldn't understand why the audience were laughing so much.

"Matt?"

He turned and saw Andy looking at him.

"Is everything okay?"

"Did you see the show?"

"Yeah, it was good."

"What?! It was terrible."

"What's going on Matt?" Andy asked, he knew there was something happening that no one was telling him.

"Where's Wes?" He asked.

Andy frowned. "What?"

"Wes?! Where's Wes?" Matt raised his voice slightly, and spun around quickly when the door behind him opened and Lucy and Darius walked in laughing.

"Wes?" Andy repeated. "Matt, I think you need to sit down..."

"I don't want to sit down!" He shouted, startling Lucy and Darius. "Where the hell is Wes?! I deserve to know why my sketches weren't put on the air."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy cut in. "Most of those sketches were yours."

"Who are you?" He questioned, looking at her just as Cal walked into the room.

"Matt!" He exclaimed, seeing him. "Come on, Matt...We need to go."

"Do you know where Wes is?" Matt asked him.

"Wes?"

"Yes! Wes! What the hell is wrong with you people?!" He yelled.

"Matt, calm down..."

"I don't want to calm down!" He replied.

"Wes isn't here." Cal walked closer to him and noticing his eyes looked different, realising that he must have taken something. "Darius, go and get Danny, now."

Darius nodded and rushed out the room.

"I don't want to talk to Danny!" Matt exclaimed. "I want to know what's going on!"

"Matty..."

Matt took a deep breath, trying to gain some control of his anger. "Cal, just stop messing him around and tell me where Wes is."

"Matt, Wes doesn't work here any more." Cal told him, softly.

"Since when?!"

"For a while now..." Cal sighed, wishing Danny would hurry up and get here. He didn't know how to handle this.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

Harriet, Simon, Tom and Jeannie ran into the room. Darius had told them what was going on and they'd come to help Cal whilst Darius looked for Danny.

"Matthew..." Harriet said, softly, walking towards him.

"Harri, tell me what's happening?" He asked. "Nothing is making sense."

"It's okay..." She told him, reaching out and squeezing his arm, reassuringly.

"Where's Wes?" He asked. "They...They're saying he doesn't work here."

"Matthew, he was fired...remember... you...you took his job."

"What?"

"You and Danny, you came back and took over the show."

"What do you mean, came back?"

"You quit... 4 years ago."

Danny and Jordan ran in with Darius following them. The room was silent as they all stared at Matt.

Everything was mixed up. How could he forget that Wes was fired, how could he forget that Danny and him had taken over the show. He looked up at everyone confused and a little scared.

"Do...do you remember?" Harriet asked quietly. "Wes was fired, they hired you and Danny back here to run the show..."

Matt didn't know what to believe, he silently looked at Danny questionably, he was the only person he trusted to tell him the truth.

Danny recognised the look he was getting. Matt was silently begging Danny to tell him that everyone was wrong, that he was right. It was them that were going crazy, not him. It broke his heart to see his best friend like this, but he had to tell him the truth. A lump rose in his throat and threatened to choke him. He couldn't speak so instead just silently nodded.

Matt stumbled backwards slightly when he did, leaning against the wall for support as memories came flooding back to him. Danny's failed drug tests, fights with Harriet, Danny dying...

His legs buckled from under him, causing him to slide down the wall to the floor. Danny was dying... and he remembered the pain that he was feeling now was the same that he felt when Danny had told him. He remembers taking all those pills and tears filled his eyes. He didn't care that they were all watching him because they already knew that he had a problem...They had known and tried to help him, but he wouldn't let them... He wouldn't let himself admit what was happening.

Everyone watched as Danny slowly walked over to him, crouching down on the floor.

"Give them to me, Matt..." He whispered, causing Matt to look at him. "Give me the pills."

Matt reached a shaky hand into his pocket; pulling out the ones he had left and gave them to Danny.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered. "I thought... I didn't mean... I can't..."

"It's okay, I'm going to take you to get some help." Danny whispered. "It will all be okay."

"I really... I really thought that..." Matt started as more tears fell. "I really thought I was in control."

"I know." Danny whispered. "Come on."

Danny grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him to his feet, before slowly leading him out of the room not bothering to say anything to anyone else.

After a few minutes of silence everyone started to leave the room too. All in shock as to what they has just witnessed. They knew he had a problem but it was so heartbreaking to see it.

Simon turned and looked at Lucy, Darius and Andy, the only people left in the room.

"Don't tell anyone what you just saw." He told them. "If any of this gets out... you'll have us all to deal with. Okay?"

"Yes." Lucy nodded, still stunned.

"Yeah." Darius added.

"I won't say a word." Andy said when Simon looked at him.

"Good...I'll see you later."

Lucy looked at Andy and Darius.

"What's going to happen to the show now?"

Andy shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and see... I'm going home, I'll see you both on Monday."

Lucy sighed and looked at Darius, who shrugged, not knowing what else to say about what just happened.

**TBC**

**Please review and let me know what you think!! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey sorry, it's taken a while to update!! I hope you like it! Please review!! **

**Enjoy!!! **

**Always There**

Danny made his way down the familiar corridor not bothering to pause to knock when he reached the room he was looking for.

Matt glanced up from where he was sat in the corner, with his laptop in front of him. "Hey."

"Hey..." Danny replied, taking a seat across from him. "The know the show doesn't start up for another 4 weeks...You don't need to work."

"I'm not working." Matt said, his eyes scanning the screen in front of him.

"What you doing then?" Danny frowned.

"Just checking the internet."

Danny sighed. "Matt, don't drive yourself crazy..."

"Have you been on the show's message board lately... its jammed with fans trying to find out what's going on..."

"Matt, I really don't think this is helping..."

"People thinks the shows been cancelled... there's a petition with 20112 signatures that people are signing to save the show."

"Well, the show doesn't need saving..." Danny commented, leaning forwards to close the computer.

Matt looked at him. "They don't know that."

"They will soon." Danny stated. "Jordan is working on something to tell them."

"She's been working on something to tell them since before the show ended." Matt rolled her eyes.

"She's had a lot on her mind at the moment, with the baby and everything else..." Danny replied. "Give her a break."

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything..." Matt rubbed his eyes. "I just hate all of this."

"Don't worry about it..."

"Can't not worry about it." He said. "This is all my fault..."

"Matt..."

"If I wasn't so stupid none of this would be happening..."

"Look, it's not a problem... only a few people know what's really going on, everyone else thinks it because of me." Danny told him. "It will work out, I promise." 

"I don't want them to think it's because of you."

"What do you want then?"

"To tell them the truth."

"Matt, believe me this is best way." Danny assured him. "The press won't leave you alone if they knew the truth."

"I don't care." He mumbled.

"But I do." Danny answered. "I'm trying to look out for you, okay...I don't know how long I'll be able too..."

"Danny, don't..." Matt groaned standing up and walking over to the window.

"We have to talk about this sometime..." Danny turned in his chair to look at the back of him. "You do know there won't be a 4am miracle this time, don't you?"

Matt continued to stare out the window into the gardens. He didn't want to think about it. Not yet, anyway, he had been doing so well and thinking about this just made him feel so scared and alone.

"Matt, you do..."

"Yes, Danny...I know." He whispered, cutting in to stop him from repeating himself.

"Good." Danny nodded slightly, looking down at his hands. He decided to leave it at that for the time being. Matt would be able to leave the rehab centre in the next week or so...they can talk about it then.

Matt turned to face him. "Things were ever meant to turn out this bad."

"Well, there are some things we just can't help..."

"How can you be so calm about all of this?"

"I'm not calm, Matt..." He shook his head slightly. "Everything that is going on, is scaring the hell out of me."

Matt sighed and turned back to the window again, guilt washing over him.

"What?" Danny questioned at his reaction.

"I should be there for you..."

"What do you mean?" Danny frowned.

"I should have been there for you...I should be now..."

"Matt..." Danny stood up and walked over to him. "It doesn't matter..."

"Of course it matters, Danny!" He spun around again to look at him. "I've screwed up!"

"You forgetting who you're talking to..." Danny joked slightly. "The amount of times I've screwed up and you were there for me..."

"This is different..." Matt replied.

"How?" 

"I don't know...It just is."

"Look, Matt...just concentrate on yourself, yeah?" Danny said softly. "I can manage everything else..."

"But..."

"But nothing...I can handle all of this..." Danny told him. "And I know that at some point I'm going to get so sick and not be able to do anything but right now...I'm okay..."

Matt turned and looked at him once more. "I just don't want to let you down, more then I have done already."

"Matt, you haven't let me down...You made a mistake but I've been there, remember...I understand."

Matt sighed quietly and nodded.

"Right, so lets talk about something else." Danny suggested. "Everything will be okay."

"I hope you're right." Matt mumbled.

_**XxXxX**_

He was early, he knew he would there before anyone else and that's the reason why. He sat in his office, looking around, it felt good to be back. He was nervous about facing everyone after what had happened. He didn't know what to expect. Danny had told him that everyone had agreed to keep what happened quiet but he really wished they hadn't been there that night when he freaked out.

He tensed and looked up when there was a knock on the door.

"Hey..." Harriet smiled slightly from the doorway.

"Hi." He replied.

"I thought you might be here early." She said, walking into the room slowly. "I got coffee."

He smiled. "You know me to well."

She returned the smile as she handed him a cup. "So, how you doing?"

"Okay, I guess..." He shrugged. "I feel like an idiot."

She looked down into her own coffee for a moment before looking up at him. "I'm sorry I didn't come and see you sooner."

"It's okay..." He started.

"I wanted to but I didn't think it was a good idea." 

"Harri, it doesn't matter... the clinic doesn't really allow people to visit, they weren't to happy about Danny coming in."

"I guess no one can keep you two apart..." She joked and Matt laughed quietly but then frowned slightly when he thought about Danny's illness. "Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"It's okay." Matt stopped her. "Anyway, I was saying... they didn't like visitors and then once I got out...i went home and spent time with my family and stuff.."

"Did you tell them?" Harriet asked.

Matt looked down. "No."

"Oh...Well, that's probably for the best..."

"I hate lying to everyone." He looked up at her. "I hate that people think the show was put on hold because of Danny being ill..."

"Matt, he's trying to look out for you." Harriet told him softly. "He knows what it's like for everyone to know you're business..."

"I know but after everything, he shouldn't be protecting me... I don't deserve him too."

"Matt, you didn't do anything wrong...you were struggling and made mistakes...it just proves your human..." Harriet answered. "And I know I feel guilty about not noticing what was going on with you...I bet you Danny feels the same."

"I don't want any of you to feel guilty."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about it." She replied and smiled slightly, taking his hand. "And there's nothing you can do about Danny protecting you because no matter what, he will..."

"I know."

"So, come on.. lets try and forget everything and concentrate on putting on a great show." She squeezed his hand gently.

He smiled at her again. "Yeah, okay..."

_**XxXxX**_

Matt was already working on a sketch idea when Danny walked into the office.

"Hey, you took your time." Matt commented but didn't stop typing.

"I went to breakfast with Jordan." Danny shrugged, taking a seat; not at all bothered by the fact he was late. "Good to be back?"

"Oh yeah."

"Really?"

This time Matt looked up at him. "It's good to have things back to normal."

"Yeah it is." He agreed. "But promise me that everything starts to get to much or anything, that you'll talk to me..."

"Danny..."

"I mean it, Matt." Danny stated. "Because if you do anything like that again, I won't hesitate in kicking your ass!"

He smiled slightly. "I know..and I won't."

"You won't what?"

"I won't let things get on top of me like that again..." He promised. "I never want to feel like that again."

"Good."

"And there's something I want to tell you..."

Danny frowned in concern. "What?"

"Our contracts are only for 2 years, right?"

"Yeah because once they've expired, I'll be able to direct your movie..." He stated. "Or I would have been able to if..."

"I'm not going to do the movie." Matt cut in before he could finish the sentence.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't do it without you." Matt shook his head.

"Matt, it's a great script!" Danny claimed.

"I don't think I can handle it, Danny..." He stated. "I mean, it's only another year until our contracts end...It'll be too soon."

"So, what are you going to do then?" He questioned.

"I'll talk to Jack and Jordan...hopefully I can get my contract renewed."

"Really?" 

"Yeah, I meant it when I said this place feels like home." He claimed.

"That's great, Matt..."

"You don't seem to convince..." Matt replied.

"Look, I'd like nothing more for you to be here with Harriet, Cal, Jordan and everyone else..."

"But..." Matt predicted. 

"But it's not going to be the same..." Danny claimed. "And I don't want you only staying here just so you can hang on a little tighter to the past."

"Is wanting to remember such a bad thing?" Matt sighed.

"No but holding yourself back is." Danny told him. "I want you to go out there and live your life to the fullest...I only want the best for you Matt."

There was silence as Matt thought about what Danny said.

"Wow, when did we do emotionally conversations." Matt joked, breaking the silence after a few seconds.

Danny smiled, knowing Matt was trying to lighten the atmosphere. "I guess, we've never been good at that."

"I guess not." Matt replied, standing up. "I better go down to the writers room, see what ideas they've got."

"Want me to come with you?" Danny asked, standing to.

"Why?"

"Well, it'll be the first time you've seen them since that night..." Danny stated as he followed Matt out of the office.

"I know but I think this is something I need to do alone."

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure..."

"Okay, well I'll be in my office if you need anything." Danny patted his shoulder before turning to walk away. "Oh, and remember we got the press release in an hour."

"Oh that's going to be so much fun." He said sarcastically. "Everyone is going to want to know why the show went on hiatus earlier...and why there has been no explanation."

"Don't worry about it...It'll be fine."

"Okay, whatever..." Matt said as he walked off.

"Think about what I said okay?" Danny called back.

"Yeah..." Matt replied quietly with a sigh.

**TBC**

**Please review!! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, sorry this chapter took so long to do! Please review and let me know what you think!! **

**Enjoy!!!**

**Always There**

Matt walked into the writers' room and everyone stopped to look at him.

"We should go and leave you to get to work." Simon said, gesturing towards the door at Tom and Harriet.

"Uh, yeah… good to see you back, Matt..." Tom stood up quickly.

"Guys, wait...Stay..." Matt said before they had a chance to leave. "I mean, if you've got time...I'd appreciate it if you stayed, so I can talk to you."

"Of course we can..." Harriet replied, giving Tom and Simon a look telling them to sit back down.

"Yeah, no problem." Tom added.

Matt waited until everyone was sat down, his mind going over everything that he needed to say to them. He hated how they all saw him that night he went to rehab. He hated how they all knew how bad he had lost it.

"Okay... okay, right..." Matt shrugged to find the words he needed to say. "I want... I want to say sorry...for...for everything I did... I put you guys all in a horrible position... I shouldn't have gotten you all involved...And... And you didn't need to cover for me like you have done... I'll never be able to tell how much that means to me."

"Matt, you don't need to apologise..." Andy told him.

He glanced around the room... Next to him, was Lucy and Darius...Both of them had been nervous about Matt's return. They both looked up to him and hated seeing him like that...Andy just hoped they'd all be able to get past it. Tom and Simon didn't look comfortable listening to Matt's apology; they didn't need to hear...They did what they did because Matt was a friend.

"Yes, I do..." Matt made eye contact with him for the first time since he walked into the room. "I know I let people down...I know that people rely on me...I know that people look up to me..."

"You're not perfect, Matt..." Simon said quietly, causing everyone to look at him. "None of us are."

"I screwed up, big time." Matt replied. "I owe you all an explanation."

"You don't owe us..." Harriet started.

"Please, just let... just let me do this." He cut her off.

The room fell silent again and Matt took that to mean, they were waiting to listen.

"I was going through a real bad time...I was struggling... I was losing control of everything and I was getting myself deeper and deeper into trouble...I could see what I was doing… I knew that it was wrong... I knew I should stop... but I couldn't... I didn't know how..." He kept his eyes focused on his hands, not being able to look at them whilst he talked.

Everyone watched as Harriet stood up and walked over to him. She sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. He glanced up at her and smiled slightly.

"I felt... I felt like I had no one to turn to...The only person I could was... was... Danny...and he...he told me that he wasn't going to be around for much longer... I couldn't cope... I could not see how to put an end to all of this... I couldn't see the point in doing so..." He explained, his hand gripping tighter onto Harriet. "I know a lot of people don't really get our friendship, but a long while, we only had each other...We've been through so much together...I always thought Danny would be here...and him telling me he was sick... It scared the hell out of me... I didn't want to be alone."

"Matthew, you'd never be alone." Harriet whispered. "I know that you and Danny are best friends and you'll never have another friend like him, but there are so many other people that care about you... People who would want to help."

"I know that now...but at the time... I couldn't see it... I didn't know what to do ... So I took the easy way out and tried to forget..." He replied and then looked up at the others. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry I put you all through this."

"It's okay...We understand." Andy assured him.

Matt nodded slightly and looked back down. He didn't know what to do or say now.

"Darius and I have been working on a sketch about a school teacher." Lucy broke the silence.

"Yeah?" Matt looked over at them.

"Yeah..." Darius nodded. "We'd really like it if you told us what you thought of it."

Matt smiled slightly. "Okay, lets hear it."

"We'll leave you too it." Harriet squeezed his hand before standing up.

"Yeah, we'll be downstairs if you need us." Simon said as Tom and him followed Harriet.

Tom paused and turned back when they reached the door. "I meant it earlier, Matt... It really is good to have you back."

Matt smiled again. "Thank you."

"See you later." Tom returned the smiled before leaving.

Matt turned back to the others. "Right, let's hear this sketch."

_**XxXxX**_

"What are you going to say?" Matt asked Jordan, as they waited to talk to the press.

"That we're sorry for the show being off the air and we're coming back this week." Jordan replied.

"What about the reason behind it?" He asked.

"We felt that the cast and crew needed a break and that we didn't want the show to suffer." She told him. "We're coming back with a stronger and better team to put on a better show."

Matt sighed. "And if we're not better? What if we're worse?"

"We'll be fine." Danny assured him.

"I don't like this."

"Tough." Danny answered.

"Okay, they're ready... Lets go." Jordan said, walking out with the two of them following her.

"Thank you all for coming." Jordan started. "Firstly, we'd like to apologise to all of the fans of Studio 60...We understand that you were all worried about the show, but I can assure you that it's coming back on Friday and will be better then ever."

"And thank you to the fans that wrote to us, emailed us, set up petitions...We really appreciate it." Matt cut in, causing both Danny and Jordan to look at him. He didn't care... It was his fault the show went off the air... it was his fault the fans thought it was going to be cancelled... He wasn't allowed to tell them the real reason but the least he could do was let them know how much their support for the show meant to him.

"Right, yes..." Jordan agreed looking back at the reporters. "Any questions."

"Why did you go on hiatus early?" A reporter asked when Shelly pointed him out.

"We thought the cast and the crew were due a break...After much discussion we thought it would be better if we took an earlier hiatus and come back better then ever, rather then carry on and have the show suffer." Danny explained.

"Why wasn't anyone told about this?" Another reported called out.

"We weren't really sure what was going on ourselves..." Jordan stated, trying to stick as close to the truth as possible.

"Does this have anything to do with Mr Tripp's past addiction?"

Matt looked at Danny and Jordan quickly when neither of them answered.

"No!" He claimed.

"What about the reports and pictures of him leaving a rehab centre two weeks ago?"

"What?" Matt looked at Danny again.

"I'm not willing to discuss this now." Danny avoided Matt's eyes. "All I'll say is that it's not the reason we went of the air."

"Matt did you know about Danny's recent trip to rehab?"

"What?" Matt asked, completely thrown by it all. It was one thing letting members of the cast and crew think it was down to Danny being ill… but everyone else thinking he had started drugs again was totally unacceptable.

"Okay, that's it for now." Danny noticed the look on Matt's face. He could tell that he was confused and upset. He knew if he didn't get him away soon then he'd end up saying something he shouldn't.

The reporters all started to shout questions at them, hoping to get an answer. Danny pulled Matt up from his seat and dragged him away with Jordan following him.

"What the hell was all that about rehab?!" Matt asked once they were back inside the building.

"It's not a big deal." Danny commented. "Someone must have seen me leaving the centre when I came to see you...They probably just assumed..."

"I can't believe this!" Matt cut in.

"Okay, lets calm down." Danny told him.

"They think it was you that screwed up..."

"So..."

"Danny, I can't do this! I can't have them blaming you! It was me!"

"Matt, it's okay... they have no proof… I've denied that I was there receiving treatment...let them think what they like!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"Because I knew you'd react like this."

Matt sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I hate this."

"I know..." Danny said softly. "But in a few days, everything will be back to normal."

"I hope you're right." He whispered.

_**XxXxX**_

Danny was right, slowly as the days went by it got easier. By Friday it was as if it never happened and Matt was starting to get that adrenaline rush as the show came closer.

"Have you got a minute?" He asked, knocking on Harriet's door.

She turned around from her mirror to look at him. "Sure."

"You did great in the dress earlier." He told her.

"Thank you." She smiled. "So, what's up?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about something..."

She frowned slightly. "Okay this sounds serious."

He slowly sat down on the couch and she sat next to him.

"Danny is not going to be able to come back to do the show next year." He started.

"Yeah..." She said softly.

"I've talked about it with him...I've decided that I'm not going to either."

"Oh?"

"Yeah... I... I don't think I can do it with someone other then Danny." He told her.

"What are you going to do then?" She questioned.

"I don't know...I'll probably take some time off...and then when I'm ready...I'm going to do that movie."

"Well, if that's what you want..."

"Yeah, I think it is... I mean, I love it here...I've had some bad times...really bad times... but then I've had some really great times..." He said. "But I can't be here forever."

She smiled slightly. "I think it's a great idea."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, it just means we will have to make this year a year to remember."

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"For understanding..." He replied. "For being there."

"You don't have to thank me." She told him. "I'll always be here for you."

"I know." He whispered looking down. "I wish I realised that before I lost all control over my life."

She placed her hand on his cheek, lifting his face gently. "None of that matters any more... lets just think about the future."

He looked at her for a moment before slowly nodding. She smiled slightly and leaned in, pressing her lips against his gently.

"I probably shouldn't have done that." She whispered, when they broke apart.

"Probably not, no..." Matt agreed but smiled at her. "I'm glad you did though."

She let out a laugh. "Good."

"I'd better get back upstairs..." He said, standing up. "Have a good show... eat 'um up."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe one night...we could go out for dinner or something?" She asked.

He paused, thinking about it for a moment. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Great." She grinned.

"I'll see you later?"

"Yeah...see you."

He smiled at her one more time, before leaving. Feeling the happiest he had in a long time.

**THE END**

**Please review and let me know what you think! I should have an epilogue up soon!!! **


	12. Epilogue

**Okay, it's the last part! It's kind of sad it's over! This is my longest chapter for a Studio 60 fic so please review! Let me know what you think of the whole story! Thanks for reading!! **

**Enjoy!!**

**Always There- Epilogue**

The heels of her black shoes clicked against the metal as she climbed up the stairs. She pulled open the door to the roof, pausing in the doorway for a moment. He didn't move from where he was stood, leaning on the wall that ran around the edge of the roof. He just stared out ahead at the skyline in front of him.

He had told her that he needed to get out for some air and when he hadn't returned after an hour she started to worry but she knew he'd be here.

She walked over to him, silently putting her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it. He straightened up a little so he could wrap his arm around her waist and pull her to him.

She buried his face in his chest, trying to keep a hold of her emotions; she knew he needed her more then anything today.

"You okay?" She asked tearfully, looking up at him.

He shrugged slightly, swallowing the lump that had rose in his throat, his eyes still transfixed on the sky.

"Matthew..."

"I can't...I can't do this..." He whispered, almost inaudible.

"Yes, you can..." She stated and when he started to shake his head slightly to disagree with her, she reached up and gently took hold of his face, turning him so he was looking at her. Seeing the tears lining his eyes made her own fill up. She took a shaky breath before continuing. "We're going to do this together, okay?"

He stared into her eyes, helplessly before nodding silently, not being able to speak.

She reached up and gently used her thumb to wipe away the tears that threatened to roll down his face.

"Everyone is waiting downstairs..." She told him.

Matt and Danny had stopped working at Studio 60 just over 2 years ago. Jordan was still President of NBS and Harriet was still a cast member so the two of them were down there a lot. Matt and Harriet have been back together for 2 and half years. They both agreed that after everything that it would be a good idea to take things slowly and this time everything worked out right. Matt had purposed 6 months ago, on their two-year anniversary. Danny and Jordan had gotten married just before they had left the studio when their daughter, Keylee Danielle was one year old.

"Okay..." He nodded slightly but didn't make a move to head down there.

They had all discussed it and thought it would be a nice idea for all of Danny's friends and family to get together at the studio before the ceremony, because they thought Danny would like that since he loved Studio 60.

"Come on, we'll go down together." She took hold of his hand, squeezing it gently.

He didn't say anything as he let her lead him towards the door.

Everyone looked towards them as they walked into the stage. Matt glanced around the room, seeing so many people that he hadn't seen in years. His hand tightened around Harriet's.

"Hi." Jordan said softly, walking over to them. "How you doing?"

Matt shrugged slightly. "I should be asking you that."

She managed a weak smile. "I don't know, honestly... Today doesn't seem..."

"Real?" Matt finished and Jordan nodded, silently. "I feel like I'm going to wake up from this bad dream any time soon."

Jordan let out a small laugh. "With Danny stood over the top of you, ranting about sleeping instead of working?"

"Yeah, he never let me sleep..." Matt smiled, before it fluttered slightly. "God, I just wish he'd wake me up now."

"I know." Jordan whispered, placing a hand on his arm, gently.

"Hey." Simon said quietly as Tom, Cal and him joined them.

"Look at all these people..." Tom commented, looking around the room.

"I know, I don't think I know half of these people." Jordan added.

Matt sighed. "I'm going to find out what time we need to leave."

"I can do that..." Cal offered.

"No, it's okay." Matt shook his hand, letting go of Harriet's hand. "I'll be right back."

"Matthew?" Harriet called after him but he had already gone.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Simon asked.

"No." Harriet replied.

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt."

"Wes?" Harriet turned to face her old producer.

"Harriet, Tom, Simon, Cal... Miss McDeere." He greeted them all.

"Actually, it's Mrs Tripp now..." She corrected. "But, please call me Jordan."

"Of course... I heard about you getting married." He replied. "I'm sorry, I never made it to the wedding."

"It's okay...I'm glad you're here...Danny would have liked it."

"He was a good guy." He stated.

"Yeah, I know..." She whispered, tears stinging her eyes.

"I'm just sorry, I didn't do more to help Matt and him all those years ago..."

"They understood." Simon cut in. "They never thought anything bad of you."

"But I do." He replied. "They both stood up for what they believed in... I should have stood up for them."

"It's in the past now... You can't go back and change it." Harriet told him. "Today is about Danny, celebrating his life... He wouldn't want any of us feeling guilty about things we should or shouldn't have done..."

"Harriet's right." Jordan agreed. "Today is about Danny."

"Where's Matt?" Wes asked.

"He's just checking on some things." Harriet told him. "He should be back soon. He'll be glad to see you."

"How's he doing with all of this?"

Harriet sighed. "I don't know, he hasn't really talked about it...He keeping himself busy."

"Just give him time." Wes replied.

A few seconds later, Matt returned.

"Have you been outside? There are so many news crews and reporters out there." He told them. "Can't they just get lost for one day?"

Jordan sighed. "I'll go and have a word with security... see if they can get rid of them...Surely they understand how we must be feeling today?"

"Yeah, well we don't get a break from the press." Matt muttered. "I'll go and deal with it."

"Matt, it's okay...I can do it." Jordan told him.

"No, you should stay here...People will want to see you..." He replied. "You're his wife... you don't need to worry about this."

"Yeah but neither do you."

"There's stuff that needs to be done." Matt answered. "What's the point in standing around, doing nothing?"

They all watched as he walked off once again.

"I'm starting to worry about him." Harriet stated. "Its not healthy...Him and Danny were really close... he needs to talk about it."

"Maybe after the ceremony is over, he'll open up more." Simon replied.

"I hope so..." Harriet whispered.

_**XxXxX**_

Matt had spoken to the head of security and they assured him they'd do the best they could to keep the press away. He knew he should get back to the stage but he couldn't face it, not yet. He couldn't handle talking to all those people from the past, telling him what a good guy Danny was...they didn't need to be told...Matt knew that.

He sat down on the stairs and pulled a crumpled envelope with his name scrolled across it. He turned it over and went to open it but he stopped himself. He couldn't do it...He couldn't open it.

It was a letter from Danny, one that he had given to Matt along time ago and made him promise not to open until after he was gone. Matt had thrown it in a box and forgotten about it until a couple of days ago. Ever since then he's been carrying it around with him but he still didn't have the courage to open it.

It was Danny's last words to him...and he knew that once he had read them, it would mean he was completely gone for good.

He shoved the letter back into his pocket and ran a hand through his hair. He needed to hold it together...He needed to be strong. Danny would want him to look after Jordan, Keylee and everyone else. That's what Danny would be doing now if he were here...He'd be making sure everything ran smoothly and that it was perfect. That's what he deserved...a perfect day for everyone to remember him by and that was what Matt was going to give him.

He noticed a few people watching him as he made his way back over to Harriet, Jordan and the others.

"Matt, how are you doing?" Wes asked when he reached them.

Matt ran a hand through his hair. "Well, you know."

"Matt." Harriet sighed at the tone he used.

"What?" He replied before looking at Jordan. "Where's Keylee?"

"Jeannie and Lucy took her down to the dressing rooms to play." Tom informed him.

"She was asking why everyone looked sad." Jordan added. "I think it was upsetting her."

Matt was silent for a moment before replying. "I should check on her."

"Matt, she's okay...just...just relax." Jordan told him.

"Relax?" He repeated. "How the hell am I meant to relax?!"

"I didn't mean it like that." She sighed. "It's just... you can't...you have to stop trying to deal with everything on your own."

He turned to look at her. "I'm just trying to get things done…"

"Matt?"

He spun around to face Ben Lewis, someone he hadn't seen in almost 15 years.

"Matt, hi..." He looked at the others when Matt didn't say anything. "I'm Ben, I knew Danny and Matt a long time ago... We used to have a great time together... Remember that skiing trip we went on that one Christmas... Danny broke his leg?"

"I remember you disappearing when Danny needed your help." Matt replied shortly.

Ben looked down at the floor. "I know, and I'm sorry for that... I wish I could go back and change it...I'm sorry, Danny was a great guy."

"I wish people would stop saying that to me!" He exclaimed.

"I didn't mean to..."

"Yeah, whatever." He muttered, going to walk off.

"Matthew!" Harriet grabbed his hand to stop him.

"What?"

"Look, I know you're upset...we all are but..." Jordan started.

"This is a freaking joke!" He exclaimed.

"Matt!"

"Oh come on, everyone here is thinking the same thing!" He stated. "None of them are here for Danny..."

"Matt, I'm sorry if I've upset you or anything but..."

"Get lost Ben." Matt cut in.

"Okay, lets go for a walk and cool down, right now." Harriet tried to take hold of his hand but he pulled away from her.

"What? So, everyone can stay here and talk about Danny as if they knew him?! As if they cared about him?!" He raised his voice slightly, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "I mean, this guy was meant to be our best friend... We were always there for each other...Well, except when things got really tough."

"God, Matt... He had a coke addition... I didn't know how to help him!!" Ben exclaimed. "We were both just starting out in this business and Danny was the one helping us! I couldn't cope with watching what he was doing to himself!"

"And I could?!" Matt shot back. "How the hell do you think I managed?!"

"I know it wasn't easy for you..."

"No, it wasn't easy, but I was there for him! I helped him! You left him to die alone because you got scared!"

"Come on, Matthew..." Harriet attempted to take his hand again. "Lets just go."

"Everyone is here now because of their guilt...for how they turned their back on Danny... How they weren't there when he needed them... Well, you can't just say sorry and fix it!" Matt continued. He looked around the room, his eyes falling on a familiar face. She stared back at him for a moment before looking away, her fingers running around the edge of a glass, nervously. "Oh this is priceless! What the hell is she here for?!"

"Matt, stop it!" Jordan hissed as everyone else in the room, turned to look at the woman, Matt had been talking about.

"Come on, Jordan...Don't you want to know who she is?!"

"No, I can't say I really care..." Jordan started, but Matt cut her off.

"Don't you want to know the first woman that screwed with Danny's head...The woman, that made him turn to coke in the first place?" The whole room was silent now, all of them listening to Matt. "New wife, Jordan meet old wife, Linda."

"Matt!" Harriet tried to pull him away again but he wouldn't let her.

"Look, I know that you hate me." Linda stepped towards him slightly. "But this was all a long time ago...And Danny had problems long before I even met him!"

"And you thought sleeping with his brother would help him get over those?" Matt asked, sarcastically.

She looked down at her drink again. "I didn't come here for this."

"Then why the hell are you here?"

"I was married to him...No matter what happened between us, I loved him for a long time." She explained. "I just wanted to come and pay my respects."

"Well, you've done that now..." He answered.

"Matt, what the hell are you doing?" Jordan asked. "You're ruining it all!"

"Oh I'm sorry but I thought the fact we're all here because Danny is dead kind of ruined the day anyway!"

"Don't do that! Don't! Because you know that I didn't mean it like that!" Jordan stated, trying to keep hold of both her cool and her emotions. "Look around, Matt! Look at all the people who are here to celebrate Danny's life! That's what he wanted!! You know that! I know you know, because we were both there when he talked about how wanted things to be done once he was gone."

"Well, I'm sorry but..." Matt started but this time Jordan interrupted him.

"This is isn't easy for me! I love him so damn much! And I miss him!" She told him. "It's so hard to try and stay in control when all I want to do is scream and shout, but I can't because I know that's not what Danny wanted!"

Matt listened to her speak, waiting for her to finish before trying to talk himself.

"I know, Danny said..."

"You and Danny were best friends... you were practically brothers... I know this is hell for you, but you're not the only one... we all need to be here for each other, Matt...We all need to help each other through this."

"Harriet, Keylee, you...Tom, Simon, Cal… the rest of the cast..." Matt listed. "Yeah, I need you all... you're the ones that can help, but everyone else... they can go to hell."

"Matt!"

"Half of these people here turned their back on Danny when they discovered he had a problem... And the rest didn't even bother to keep in touch with him!" He started to walk towards the door.

"Matthew, please just stop this..." Harriet begged. "Please, just... You're upset but don't do this..."

"Do what?!" He spun around to face them again. "Tell the truth?! Say what everyone else is thinking! I can't stand here and listen to one more person tell me Danny was a good guy, I knew he was! He my best friend."

Harriet took a step towards him. "I know..."

"And he's gone! He's my best friend and he's never coming back!"

"I know..." Harriet whispered, reaching out and placing a hand on his arm.

He turned away from her, as he felt tears sting his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair.

She moved towards him again, rubbing his shoulder. "Come on, let's go and talk."

"I don't want to talk." He muttered. "I just want everything to go away."

"Me too...but...but it's not going to..." She whispered.

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to stop the tears but one escaped, rolling down his cheek. She turned him around to face her. "Talking about it might help."

He opened his eyes to look at her. "Out of everyone here...After everything that has happened... Do you know who the worse person of all this?"

"Matt..."

"Me." He answered, quietly.

She frowned slightly. "What?"

"I'm the worst...Danny's dead... He's gone and he's not coming back... All I can think about is myself." He told them. "All that is in my head is, who is going to be my best man at the wedding? Who is going to the godfather to my children? How am I meant to make a movie without him? Who do I talk to about random things like, how do they make gum, chewy? Who do I talk to about serious things like, relationship and work?"

"How am I meant to explain to Keylee that her Daddy isn't going to come home again? Who am I going to spend the rest of my life with? Who's going to wash the car on Sunday afternoons?" Jordan added, causing Matt to look at her. "We all have these questions... But you can't answer them on your own, Matt... You need to ask us...and we'll try our hardest to answer them for you."

He stared back at her before shaking his head slightly and looking down. "I'm sorry...I…I'm sorry, I was jerk... I'm sorry."

"Matt, you don't have to apologise." She told him, softly.

He nodded slightly, taking a shaky breath looking up at her. "We...we need to get going...or...or we'll be late."

"Yeah." She repeated. "Lets... lets go be with Danny one more time."

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, before holding his hands out. Offering one to Jordan and one to Harriet. Both of them, grasped onto his hands tightly and they made their way towards the door, silently.

Everyone else slowly started to follow them out.

_**XxXxX **_

Matt sat in between Harriet and Jordan, who had Keylee on her lap. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but she knew that her Mom, her Uncle Matt, Aunt Harriet and everyone else was sad... and that made her sad too.

Matt had his hands balled up tightly in his lap as he stared ahead of him. Listening to the words that were being spoken about Danny.

For 3 years Matt knew this day was coming, yet he still hadn't prepared himself for it. He thought they'd get through this, that there would be some kind of miracle cure, up until last week, when Harriet, Jordan and himself sat around Danny's hospital bed and watched him take his last breath. He knew that image was going to be burned into his memory for the rest of his life.

_**XxXxX**_

"Hey."

Matt turned around from where he looking out onto the beach to face Jordan who stood with Keylee in her arms.

"Hey." He replied.

"What you doing out here alone?" She asked.

"Just thinking..." Matt whispered turning to look out over the ocean.

"Do you want us to leave you?"

"No, it's okay." He smiled slightly at her.

"Danny loved the beach." She stated, standing next to him.

"Yeah, I know..."

Jordan blinked away the tears before turning to face him. "I just came out to let you know, that I'm heading home now."

"Oh right..."

"Yeah, Keylee is tired...and I think she's still upset from earlier." She explained.

Matt looked at the little girl, who was cuddled up close to her Mom. It was strange seeing her like this; she was normally so chatty and hyper.

"Well, how about next weekend, I take you to the movies?" Matt asked her. "Just me and you."

Keylee lifted her head slightly off Jordan's shoulder. "Can we get ice cream too?"

Matt smiled, for the first time all day. "Sure, why not?"

Jordan rolled her eyes. "She has you wrapped around her little finger."

"It's just a little ice cream." He replied.

She just smiled and mouthed 'thank you' silently.

"No worries." He said softly before looking back to Keylee. "You look after your Mom and I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded.

"You going to be okay?" Jordan asked, him.

He nodded slightly. "Yeah...you?"

"Yeah." She replied.

Matt let out a small laugh. "God, I wonder what Danny would say if he were here now?"

"Don't worry about it."

Both Jordan and Matt looked down at Keylee.

"What?" Matt asked.

"Daddy, always says don't worry about it."

Jordan held Keylee tighter to her as a tears filled her eyes. Matt smiled sadly, stepping forwards and hugging them both gently for a few seconds.

Jordan moved backwards, wiping away her tears.

"Right, okay... I've got to get this one to bed..." She stated. "I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah..." He nodded. "If you need anything you know where I am."

"Same goes for you..." She told him.

"Thanks."

"Bye." She smiled softly at him before turning and walking away.

"Bye." Matt whispered, watching her.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He glanced through the door, which Jordan had just disappeared through. He could see there were people still there, probably all telling stories about Danny.

He walked off the small deck and onto the sand, sitting down. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the letter again. He stared at it for what seemed like hours before silently turning it over and opening it quickly before he had a chance to change this mind.

His hands shook as he unfolded the paper and silently began to read...

_**Matt, **_

_**I guess if you're reading this then I'm not around any more...either that or you went against your promise and opened it when you shouldn't have...**_

_**I'm going to make this quick because we both know you're the writer out of the two of us...and I know what a short attention span you have.**_

_**We've been through so much together...You have been the best friend I could ever ask for. You were always there for me, no matter what... You did so much for me and I never could even begin to tell you how much I appreciated it. Thank you.**_

_**I know right now you're probably feeling guilty about something that you might have done or might not have done, but don't Matt...Don't feel guilty about the past because we had a pretty great one... **_

_**Just look to the future with Harriet. I'm so glad you guys finally decided to stop fooling around and get on with it! **_

_**I'm so proud of you, Matt... So proud of everything you managed to achieve. I'm so grateful that you let me be apart of your life. **_

_**Just promise me, you'll do everything that you've planned to do... Don't stop doing what you love doing because you're the best, Matt...Just keeping doing what you're good at. **_

_**I'm sorry, I'm not there any more but you'll be okay, I know you will. **_

_**Thank you for everything. **_

_**Danny T **_

_**PS. Everything is going to be okay, so don't worry about it...**_

Matt leaned back against the decking, gripping the letter tightly in his hands as he broke down. Crying for Danny, for Jordan, for Keylee, for himself...

He didn't know how long he'd sat there and cried for, but he only looked up when he heard Harriet calling his name.

"Hey..." He choked out, trying to swallow the lump that rose in his throat.

"Hey...Are you okay?" She asked, concerned, knelling next to him.

He nodded silently, his eyes on the letter again.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Danny's last words." He whispered.

"What?"

He silently handed her the paper, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand as she read it.

"Are you okay?" She asked, softly once she was done.

"Yeah, I think so." He said quietly and then stood up. "Come on...lets go home."

She got to her feet too, taking hold of his outstretched hand, squeezing it tightly as he lead her towards the door.

**The End.**

**Right, that's it over! It's done! Please review and let me know what you think!! **


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